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TRAVELS IN 
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, THE BLUE JADE : 
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THE ADVENTURES OF HAJJ T BABA OF ISPAHAN 
5 2 By James Morier a, 
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THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLOURED MAN 
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By Haldane Macfall 
THE MEMOIRS OF CARLO GOLDONI 
Written by Himself eS 
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By Richard Garnett 


THE LIFE OF HENRI BRULARD 
By Henri Beyle-Stendhal 


CAPTAIN COOK’S VOYAGES 
(fr) By Andrew Kippis (-H) 
HADRIAN THE SEVENTH A ROMANTIC IN SPAIN 
22 By Frederick Baron Corvo By Théophile Gautier 682 2 
oe PABLO DE SEGOVIA TRAVELS IN TARTARY a 
By Francisco de Quevedo-Villegas By Pére Huc 
ta SAID THE FISHERMAN SIR WALTER RALEGH ts 
By Marmaduke Pickthall By Martin A. S. Hume 
SARDONIC TALES THE DIABOLIQUES 
By Villiers de V Isle-Adam By Barbey d@ Aurevilly 
RACHEL MARR MAX HAVELAAR 


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: TRAVELS IN 
TARTARY 


EVARISTE-REGIS HUC 


(PERE HUC) 


Edited by 
H. D’ARDENNE DE TIZAC 


Translated from the French by 
W. HAZLITT 


NEW YORK & LONDON 
ALFRED-.A-KNOPF 


1927 


COPYRIGHT 1927 BY ALFRED A. KNOPF, INC. 


ORIGINAL TITLE 
Souvenirs d’un voyage dans 
la Tartarie, le Thibet et la 
Chine, of which this first 


volume is called: 


DANS LA TARTARIE 


COPYRIGHT 1925, BY 
PLON-NOURRIT ET CIE., PARIS 


MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 


x PS BNSS BNSES INS 
WS ANI 


PUBLISHER’S NOTE 


EvaristE-ReEcis Huc was born August ist, 1813, at Tou- 
louse. At the age of twenty-four he entered the Lazarist 
Order, and in 1839, soon after his ordination, he went out 
to China. There he spent several years at various missions, 
studying Chinese and making numerous translations. In 1844 
he and another missionary, Pere Gabet, were sent to explore 
the newly-created apostolic vicariat of Mongolia, and for 
the following two years they wandered through Tartary, 
Thibet, and China, making their way as far as the Forbidden 
City of Lhasa, where they lived for some time. Huc returned 
to Europe in 1852 and died at Paris, March 31st, 1860. 

His account of his journey, the famous Souvenirs d’un 
voyage dans la Tartarie, le T hibet, et la Chine pendant les 
années 18 44-18 46, was published at Paris in two volumes in 
1850. The English translation, by W. Hazlitt, son of the 
great critic William Hazlitt, was brought out the following 
year. In 1925 H. d’Ardenne de Tizac, Curator of the Cer- 
nuschi Museum, prepared a new edition for modern readers 
in which much that is no longer of great interest or importance 
is omitted. He has thus far edited only the first volume, and 
the present edition of the Hazlitt translation has been pre- 
pared in conformity with his version. The illustrations are 
taken from the woodcuts of the first English edition. 


¥ 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER ONE. .  ,- . : - De eR os 4 ® 


Preparations for Departure — Wretched State of the Kingdom of 
Ouniot — A Tartar-Chinese Inn. The Missionaries Become Lamas — 
Samdadchiemba — The “Good Mountain.” Exquisite Courtesy of 
Bandits — Detestable First Meal of the Nomad Life — The Imperial 
Forest and the Great Obo — The Kingdom of Gechekten. How the 
Mongols are Ruined by the Chinese — Tragic Exploitation of a Gold 
Mine — Stolen Horses. Samdadchiemba, Caster of Horoscopes — 
Nearing Tolon-Noor. 


CHAPTER TWO . . 4 : . A : . * : P * Fourie 


Meal at a Chinese Restaurant — Tolon-Noor: Its Commerce, Its Art 
Foundries. Influence of Occidental Religion — Picturesque Encamp- 
ment. Culinary Progress. Tea in Bricks — Encounter with a Queen 
of the Khalkhas — Deluge. How One Tartar Vanquished the Eng- 
lish — The Red Banner. Awe-inspiring Effect of the Tartar Plains 
— Tartar Customs, Their Urbanity. A Tartar Tent. Horsemen and 
Hunters— A Search for Water. Sudden Typhoon — Samdadchi- 
emba’s Story. Tribulations of an Apprentice Lama — Destruction 
of a City of Grey Squirrels. 


CHAPTER THREE S 5 ; e : : . = 0 A 2 : a 


Festival of the Loaves of the Moon— Feast in a Tartar Tent. Great 


Embarrassment over a Sheep’s Tail — The Invocation to Timour 


— The Mongol Singer — Training of Young Tartars. The Mon- 
gol and His Horse— Education of Women—The Mournful 
City of Chaborté. Incident of the Lost Horses — The Ruined Cities 
of Mongolia — Prayers for a Sick Woman — Mongol Medicine — 
Terrifying Exorcism — Funeral Customs — Human Sacrifices. Chil- 
dren Stuffed with Mercury — The Kingdom of Efe. The Young 
Wrestlers — Encounter with Three Wolves. How These Beasts Are 
Hunted. 


28 


59 


Vill 3 CONTENTS 


CHAPTER FOUR . 2 £ 2’ a i ae «| e; «; 


Piety of the Mongols. Founding of a Lamasery. Prayers and Psalmo- 


dies — Marvellous Dissection of a Deer. The Unexpected Guest — 
A Rarity: Tartar Farmers! — The Blue Town. Manchu Lack of 
Originality. Their Skill in Archery — Appearance of the Old Blue 
Town — The Obliging Chinaman — A Turkish Hostelry. The Inn 
of the Three Perfections — Spoliation of the Mongols by the Chinese 
— The Money-changer Confounded — The Old-Clothes-Dealer — 
The Camel Market — Domestic Lamas. Wandering Lamas. Lamas 
in Community — China Disturbed by the Mongol Awakening. 


CHAPTER FIVE : is 


A Tarter-eater —Loss of Arsalan— Encounter with an Immense 
Turkish Caravan — Inhospitable Inns — Kindness of an Old Mon- 
gol Shepherd — Flood of the Yellow River— Discussions. Severe 
Hardships — The Warden of the Little Temple. An Exciting Em- 
barkation — The Boatman’s Quarrel with a Camel. Further Hard- 
ships. 


CHAPTER SIX ts 


On the Bank of the Paga-Gol. The Battle Against the Lice, The Mer- 
cury Necklace. Tartar Customs in Dealing with Lice — The Pleas- 
ures of Rest. Washing. A Fuel-Hunt— Nomadic Birds. A Model 
Ménage. The Dragons Foot— Adventures with a Fisherman— 
Kindness Recompensed — Difficult Passage of the Paga-Gol — En- 
counter with the Prime Minister of the Ortous. 


CHAPTER SEVEN « « O s. owm® 6 


Miserable Appearance of the Ortous Country — Social Classes among 
the Tartars, Slavery —A Theologic Dispute. Vexation of a Lama 
— Election of a Living Buddha— Organization of a Lamasery. 
Education by Blows. Canonic Books— A Torrential Storm. Cold. 


Refuge in a Cave— The Unexpected Neighbour. Insolence of the 


Sparrows. A Drama near the Caves. A Mongol Marriage— 
Condition of the Mongol Women, Polygamy. Divorce. The Feminine 
Costume. 


CHAPTER EIGHT 


Ordeal by Smoke — From Arctic Cold to the Warmth of Spring — 
A Lama Who Cuts Open His Abdomen — Other Astonishing Prac- 


87 


115 


137 


159 


186 


CONTENTS 


tices — Pilgrimage by Prostration— Curious Methods of Prayer 
— The Country of Nitre and Salt— Remarks on the Camels of 
Tartary. 


CHAPTER NINE. 


The Lama’s Sheep — The Little Hump-backed Butcher—A Regal 
Repast — Anatomic and Veterinary. Skill of the Mongols — The 
Watering-place — The Hundred Wells — Encounter with the Cor- 
tége of the King of the Alechan— Encampment and Conversation 
with a Minister of State — Tributes Paid the Emperor of China — 
Desolation of the Country of the Alechan — Decision to Traverse 
the Kan-Sou. Samdadchiemba is Homesick — Trepidation Caused by 
a Wild Beast — The Caravan Acquires a Lame Dog, then Abandons 
It. Farewell to Tartary, 


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Towarps the commencement of the year 1844, couriers ar- 
rived at Si-wang, a small Christian community, where the 
vicar apostolic of Mongolia had fixed his episcopal residence. 
Si-wang itself is a village, north of the Great Wall, one 
day’s journey from Suen-hoa-Fou. The prelate sent us in- 
structions for an extended voyage we were to undertake 
for the purpose of studying the character and manners of 
the Tartars, and of ascertaining as nearly as possible the ex- 
tent and limits of the vicariate. This journey, then, which 
we had so long meditated, was now determined upon; and we 
sent a young lama convert in search of some camels which we 
had put to pasture in the kingdom of Naiman. Pending his 
absence, we hastened the completion of several Mongol 
works, the translation of which had occupied us for a con- 
siderable time. 

During this interval of painful suspense we continued to 
inhabit the Contiguous Defiles, a Tartar district dependent 
on the kingdom of Ouniot.’ nee regions appear to have been 
affected by great revolutions. The present inhabitants state 
that in the olden time the country was occupied by Korean 
tribes, who, expelled thence in the course of various wars, 
took refuge in the peninsula which they still possess, between 
the Yellow Sea and the sea of Japan. You often in these parts 
of Tartary meet with the remains of great towns and the 
ruins of fortresses, very nearly resembling those of the Mid- 
dle Ages in Europe, and, upon turning up the soil in these 


_1 Notwithstanding the slight importance of the Tartar tribes, we shall 
give them the name of kingdoms, because the chiefs of these tribes are called 
Wang (King). 


4 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


places, it is not unusual to find lances, arrows, portions of 
farming implements, and urns filled with Korean money. 

Towards the middle of the seventeenth century the 
Chinese began to penetrate into this district. At that period 
the whole landscape was still one of rude grandeur; the 
mountains were covered with fine forests, and the Mongol 
tents whitened the valleys, amid rich pasturages. For a 
very moderate sum the Chinese obtained permission to culti- 
vate the desert, and as cultivation advanced, the Mongols” 
were obliged to retreat, conducting their flocks and herds 
elsewhere. From that time forth the aspect of the country 
became entirely changed. All the trees were grubbed up, the 
forests disappeared from the hills, the prairies were cleared 
by means of fire, and the new cultivators set busily to work 
in exhausting the fecundity of the soil. 

Almost the entire region is now in the hands of the 
Chinese, and it is probably to their system of devastation 
that we must attribute the extreme irregularity of the sea- 
sons which now desolate this unhappy land. Droughts are 
of almost annual occurrence; the spring winds setting in, dry 
up the soil; the heavens assume a sinister aspect, and the 
unfortunate population await, in utter terror, the manifesta- 
tion of some terrible calamity; the winds by degrees re- 
double their violence, and sometimes continue to blow far 
into the summer months. Then the dust rises in clouds, the 
atmosphere becomes thick and dark; and often at midday 
you are environed with the terrors of night, or, rather, with 
an intense and almost palpable blackness, a thousand times 
more fearful than the most sombre night. Next after these 
hurricanes comes the rain: but so comes that, instead of being 
an object of desire, it is an object of dread, for it pours down 
in furious raging torrents. Sometimes the heavens, suddenly 
opening, pour forth in, as it were, an immense cascade all 
the water with which they are charged in that quarter; and 


THE KINGDOM OF OUNIOT 5 


immediately the fields and their crops disappear under a 
sea of mud, whose enormous waves follow the course of 
the valleys and carry everything before them. The torrent 
rushes on, and in a few hours the earth reappears; but the 
crops are gone, and, worse even than that, the arable soil also 
has gone with them. Nothing remains but a ramification of 
deep ruts, filled with gravel, and thenceforth incapable of 
being ploughed. 

Hail is of frequent occurrence in these unhappy dis- 
tricts, and the dimensions of the hail-stones are generally 
enormous. We have ourselves seen some that weighed twelve 
pounds. One moment sometimes suffices to exterminate whole 
flocks. In 1843, during one of these storms, there was heard 
in the air a sound as of a rushing wind, and therewith fell, 
in a field near a house, a mass of ice larger than an ordinary 
millstone. It was broken to pieces with hatchets, yet, though 
the sun burned fiercely, three days elapsed before these 
pieces entirely melted. 

The droughts and the inundations together sometimes 
occasion famines which wellnigh exterminate the inhabitants. 
That of 1832, in the twelfth year of the reign of Tao- 
Kouang,’ is the most terrible of these on record. The Chinese 
report that it was everywhere announced by a general pre- 
sentiment, the exact nature of which no one could explain or 
comprehend, During the winter of 1831 a dark rumour grew 
into circulation. “ Next year,” it was said, “there will be 
neither rich nor poor; blood will cover the mountains; bones 
will fill the valleys (Ow fou, ou kioung; hue man chan, kou 
man tchouan).” These words were in everyone’s mouth; the 
children repeated them in their sports; all were under the 
domination of these sinister apprehensions when the year 
1832 commenced. Spring and summer passed away without 


2 Sixth Emperor of the Tartar-Manchu dynasty. He died in the year 
1849. 


6 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


rain, and the frosts of autumn set in while the crops were yet 
green; these crops of course perished, and there was abso- 
lutely no harvest. The population was soon reduced to the 
most entire destitution. Houses, fields, cattle, everything was 
exchanged for grain, the price of which attained its weight 
in gold. When the grass on the mountain sides was devoured 
by the starving creatures, the depths of the earth were dug 
into for roots. The fearful prognostic, which had been so 
often repeated, became accomplished. Thousands died upon 
the hills, whither they had crawled in search of grass; dead 
bodies filled the roads and houses; whole villages were de- 
populated to the last man. There was, indeed, neither rich 
nor poor; pitiless famine had levelled all alike. 

All Monday was occupied in the equipment of our cara- 
van. Every person gave his assistance to this object. Some 
repaired our travelling-house — that-is to say, mended or 
patched a great blue linen tent; others cut for us a supply 
of wooden tent-pins; others mended the holes in our copper 
kettle and renovated the broken leg of a joint-stool; others 
prepared cords and put together the thousand and one pieces 
of a camel’s pack. Tailors, carpenters, braziers, rope-makers, 
saddle-makers, people of all trades, assembled in active co- 
operation in the courtyard of our humble abode. For all, great 
and small, among our Christians were resolved that their 
spiritual fathers should proceed on their journey as comfort- 
ably as possible. 

On Tuesday morning there remained nothing to be 
done but to perforate the nostrils of the camels and to in- 
sert in the aperture a wooden peg, to use as a sort of bit. The 
arrangement of this was left to our lama. The wild piercing 
cries of the poor animals pending the painful operation soon 
collected together all the Christians of the village. At this 
moment our lama became exclusively the hero of the ex- 
pedition. The crowd ranged themselves in a circle around 


i a — 


THE KINGDOM OF OUNIOT | 7 


him; everyone was curious to see how, by gently pulling the 
cord attached to the peg in its nose, our lama could make 
the animal obey him, and kneel at his pleasure. Then, again, 
it was an interesting thing for the Chinese to watch our lama 
packing on the camels’ backs the baggage of the two mis- 
sionary travellers. When the arrangements were completed, 
we drank a cup of tea and proceeded to the chapel; the Chris- 
tians recited prayers for our safe journey; we received their 


My 


intl 


THE TRAVELLERS SETTING OUT ON 
THEIR JOURNEY. 


farewell, interrupted with tears, 
and proceeded on our way. Samdadchiemba, our lama camel- 
eer, gravely mounted on a black, stunted, meagre mule, 
opened the march, leading two camels laden with our bag- 
gage; then came the two missionaries, MM. Gabet and Huc, 
the former mounted on a tall camel, the latter on a white 
horse. 

Upon our departure we were resolved to lay aside our 
accustomed usages and to become regular Tartars. Yet we did 
not at the outset and all at once become exempt from the 
Chinese system. Besides that, for the first mile or two of our 
journey, we were escorted by our Chinese Christians, some 


8 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


on foot and some on horseback, our first stage was to be an 
inn kept by the Grand Catechist of the Contiguous Defiles. 


A Tartar-Chinese Inn. The Missionaries Become Lamas. 


We were received by the landlord, or, as the Chinese call 
him, the Comptroller of the Chest. Inns of this description 
occur at intervals in the deserts of Tartary, along the confines 
of China. They consist almost universally of a large square 
enclosure, formed by high poles interlaced with brushwood. 
In the centre of this enclosure is a mud house, never more 
than ten feet high. With the exception of a few wretched 
rooms at each extremity, the entire structure consists of one 
large apartment, serving at once for cooking, eating, and 
sleeping; thoroughly dirty, and full of smoke and intolerable 
stench. Into this pleasant place all travellers, without dis- 
tinction, are ushered, the portion of space applied to their 
accommodation being a long, wide kang, as it is called, a sort 
of furnace, occupying more than three fourths of the apart- 
ment, about four feet high, and the flat, smooth surface of 
which is covered with a reed mat, which the richer guests 
cover again with a travelling-carpet of felt or with furs. 
In front of it three immense coppers, set in glazed earth, 
serve for the preparation of the traveller’s milk-broth. The 
apertures by which these monster boilers are heated com- 
municate with the interior of the kang, so that its tempera- 
ture is constantly maintained at a high elevation, even in the 
terrible cold of winter. Upon the arrival of guests the Comp- 
troller of the Chest invites them to ascend the kamg, where 
they seat themselves, their legs crossed tailor-fashion, round 
a large table, not more than six inches high. The lower part 
of the room is reserved for the people of the inn, who there 
busy themselves in keeping up the fire under the cauldrons, 
boiling tea, and pounding oats and buckwheat into flour for 
the repast of the travellers. The kang of these Tartar-Chinese 


KANG OF A TARTAR-CHINESE INN. 


inns is, till evening, a stage full of animation, where the 
guests eat, drink, smoke, gamble, dispute, and fight; with 
nightfall, the refectory, tavern, and gambling-house of the 
day is suddenly converted into a dormitory. The travellers 
who have any bed-clothes unroll and arrange them; those 
who have none settle themselves as best they may in their 
personal attire and lie down, side by side, round the table. 
When the guests are very numerous, they arrange themselves 
in two circles, feet to feet. Thus reclined, those so disposed 
sleep; others, awaiting sleep, smoke, drink tea, and gossip. 
The effect of the scene, dimly exhibited by an imperfect 
wick floating amid thick, dirty, stinking oil, whose receptacle 
is ordinarily a broken tea-cup, is fantastic and, to the stranger, 
fearful. 

The Comptroller of the Chest had prepared his own 
room for our accommodation. We washed, but would not 


IO TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


sleep there; being now Tartar travellers and in possession of 
a good tent, we determined to try our apprentice hand at 
setting it up. This resolution offended no one; it was quite 
understood we adopted this course, not out of contempt 
towards the inn, but out of love for a patriarchal life. When 
we had set up our tent, and unrolled on the ground our goat- 
skin beds, we lighted a pile of brushwood, for the nights were 
already growing cold. Just as we were closing our eyes, the 
Inspector of Darkness startled us with beating the official 
night alarum, upon his brazen tamtam, the sonorous sound 
of. which, reverberating through the adjacent valleys, struck 
with terror the tigers and wolves frequenting them and drove 
them off. 

We were on foot before daylight. Previous to our de- 
parture we had to perform an operation of considerable im- 
portance — no other than an entire change of costume, a 
complete metamorphosis. The missionaries who reside in 
China all, without exception, wear the secular dress of the 
people and are in no way distinguishable from them; they 
bear no outward sign of their religious character. It is a great 
pity that they should be thus obliged to wear the secular 
costume, for it is an obstacle in the way of their preaching 
the gospel. Among the Tartars a “ black man ”— so they 
discriminate the laity, as wearing their hair, from the clergy, 
who have their heads close shaved — who should talk about 
religion would be laughed at, as impertinently meddling with 
things the special province of the lamas and in no way concern- 
ing him. The reasons which appear to have introduced and 
maintained the custom of wearing the secular habit on the 
part of the missionaries in China no longer applying to us, 
we resolved at length to appear in an ecclesiastical exterior 
becoming our sacred mission. The views of our vicar apostolic 
on the subject, as explained in his written instructions, being 
conformable with our wish, we did not hesitate. We re- 


2 
a 


THE MISSIONARIES BECOME LAMAS. Il 


solved to adopt the secular dress of the Thibetian lamas; that 
is to say, the dress which they wear when not actually per- 
forming their idolatrous ministry in the pagodas. The cos- 
tume of the Thibetian lamas suggested itself to our prefer- 
ence as being in unison with 
that worn by our young neo- 
phyte, Samdadchiemba. 

We announced to the 
Christians of the inn that we 
were resolved no longer to 
look like Chinese merchants; 
that we were about to cut off 
our long tails and to shave 
our heads. This intimation 
created great agitation: some 
of our disciples even wept; 
all sought by their eloquence 
to divert us from a resolu- 
tion which seemed to them 
fraught with danger; but 
their pathetic remonstrances 
were of no avail; one touch 
of 4 razor, in the hands. of 
Samdadchiemba, sufficed to 
sever the long tail of hair which, to accommodate Chinese 
fashions, we had so carefully cultivated ever since our de- 
parture from France. We put on a long, yellow robe, fas- 
tened at the right side with five gilt buttons, and round the 
waist by a long, red sash; over this was a red jacket, with a 
collar of purple velvet; a yellow cap, surmounted by a red 
tuft, completed our new costume. 

- Breakfast followed this decisive operation, but it was 
silent and sad. When the Comptroller of the Chest brought 
in some glasses and an urn, wherein smoked the hot wine 


THE MISSIONARIES IN THEIR 
LAMANESQUE COSTUMES. 


12 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


drunk by the Chinese, we told him that having changed our 
habit of dress, we should change also our habit of living. 
“ Take away,” said we, “that wine and that chafing-dish; 
henceforth we renounce drinking and smoking. You know,” 
added we, laughing, “‘ that good lamas abstain from wine and 
tobacco.” The Chinese Christians who surrounded us did not 
join in the laugh; they looked at us without speaking and 
with deep commiseration, fully persuaded that we should in- 
evitably perish of privation and misery in the deserts of Tar- 
tary. Breakfast finished, while the people of the inn were 
packing up our tent, saddling the camels, and preparing for 
our departure, we took a couple of rolls, baked in the steam 
of the furnace, and walked out to complete our meal with 
some wild currants growing on the bank of the adjacent 
rivulet. It was soon announced to us that everything was 
ready — so, mounting our respective animals, we proceeded 
on the road to Tolon-Noor, accompanied by Samdadchiemba. 


Samdadchiemba. 


As we have just observed, Samdadchiemba was our 
only travelling-companion. This young man was neither 
Chinese, nor Tartar, nor Thibetian. Yet, at the first 
glance, it was easy to recognize in him the features char- 
acterizing that which naturalists call the Mongol race. A 
great flat nose, insolently turned up; a large mouth, slit in 
a perfectly straight line; thick, projecting lips; a deep bronze 
complexion — every feature contributed to give to his physi- 
ognomy a wild and scornful aspect. When his little eyes 
seemed starting out of his head from under their lids, wholly 
destitute of eyelash, and he looked at you wrinkling his 
brow, he inspired you at once with feelings of dread and yet 
of confidence. The face was without any decisive character: 
it exhibited neither the mischievous knavery of the Chinese, 
nor the frank good nature of the Tartar, nor the courageous 


THE “‘GOOD MOUNTAIN ” | in 


energy of the Thibetian; but was made up of a mixture of 
all three. Samdadchiemba was a Dchiahour. We shall here- 
after have occasion to speak more in detail of the native 
country of our young cameleer. 

At the age of eleven Samdadchiemba had escaped from 
his lamasery, in order to avoid the too frequent and too 
severe corrections of the master under whom he was more 
immediately placed. He afterwards passed the secu por- 
tion of his vagabond youth, 
sometimes in the Chinese 
towns, sometimes in the deserts 
of Tartary. It is easy to com- 
prehend that this independent 
course of life had not tended to 
modify the natural asperity of 
his character; his intellect was 
entirely uncultivated; but, on Se at 
the other hand, his muscular Way Le Te \ 
power was enormous, and he FEE 
was not a little vain of this 
quality, which he took great pleasure in parading. After hav- 
ing»been instructed and baptized by M. Gabet, he had 
attached himself to the service of the missionaries. The jour- 
ney we were now undertaking was perfectly in harmony with 
his erratic and adventurous taste. He was, however, of no 
mortal service to us as a guide across the deserts of Tartary, 
for he knew no more of the country than we knew ourselves. 
Our only informants were a compass, and the excellent map 
of the Chinese Empire by Andriveau-Goujon. 


SAMDADCHIEMBA. 


The “Good Mountain.” Exquisite Courtesy of Bandits. 
The first portion of our journey, after leaving Yan-Pa- 


Eul, was accomplished without interruption, sundry anath- 
emas excepted, which were hurled against us as we ascended 


14 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


a mountain, by a party of Chinese merchants, whose mules, 
upon sight of our camels and our own yellow attire, became 
frightened, and took to their heels at full speed, dragging 
after them, and in one or two instances overturning, the 
wagons to which they were harnessed. 

The mountain in question is called Sain-Oula (Good 
Mountain), doubtless uz lucus a non lucendo, since it is no- 
torious for the dismal accidents and tragical adventures of 
which it is the theatre. The ascent is by a rough, steep path, 
half choked up with fallen rocks. Midway up is a small tem- 
ple, dedicated to the divinity of the mountain, Sain-Nai 
(the good old woman); the occupant is a priest, whose busi- 
ness it is from time to time to fill up the cavities in the road 
occasioned by the previous rains, in consideration of which 
service he receives from each passenger a small gratuity, 
constituting his revenue. After a toilsome journey of nearly 
three hours we found ourselves at the summit of the moun- 
tain, upon an immense plateau, extending from east to west 
a long day’s journey, and from north to south still more 
widely. From this summit you discern, afar off in the plains 
of Tartary, the tents of the Mongols, ranged semi-circularly 
on the slopes of the hills, and looking in the distance like so 
many beehives. Several rivers derive their source from the 
sides of this mountain. Chief among these is the Chara- 
Mouren (Yellow River — distinct, of course, from the great 
Yellow River of China, the Hoang-Ho) — the capricious 
course of which the eye can follow on through the king- 
dom of Gechekten, after traversing which, and then the dis- 
trict of Naiman, it passes the stake boundary into Manchuria 
and, flowing from north to south, falls into the sea, approach- 
ing which it assumes the name Léao-Ho. 

The Good Mountain is noted for its intense frosts. 
There is not a winter passes in which the cold there does 
not kill many travellers. Frequently whole caravans, not ar- 


FIRST MEAL OF THE NOMAD LIFE 15 


riving at their destination on the other side of the mountain, 
are sought and found on its bleak road, man and beast frozen 
to death. Nor is the danger less from the robbers and the wild 
beasts with whom the mountain is a favourite haunt, or, 
rather, a permanent station. Assailed by the brigands, the un- 
lucky traveller is stripped, not merely of horse and money and 
baggage, but absolutely of the clothes he wears, and then left 
to perish from cold and hunger. 

Not but that the brigands of these parts are extremely 
polite all the while; they do not rudely clap a pistol to your 
ear and bawl at you: “ Your money or your life! ” No; they 
mildly advance with a courteous salutation: ‘“ Venerable 
elder brother, Iam on foot; pray lend me your horse — I’ve 
got no money, be good enough to lend me your purse — it’s 
quite cold today, oblige me with the loan of your coat.” If the 
venerable elder brother charitably complies, the matter ends 
with “ Thanks, brother ”’; but otherwise the request is forth- 
with emphasized with the arguments of a cudgel; and if 
these do not convince, recourse is had to the sabre. 


Detestable First Meal of the Nomad Life. 


’ The sun declining ere we had traversed this platform, we 
resolved to encamp for the night. Our first business was to 
seek a position combining the three essentials of fuel, water, 
and pasturage; and, having due regard to the ill reputation of 
the Good Mountain, privacy from observation as complete as 
could be effected. Being novices in travelling, the idea of 
robbers haunted us incessantly, and we took everybody we saw 
to be a suspicious character, against whom we must be on our 
guard. A grassy nook, surrounded by tall trees, appertaining 
to the Imperial Forest, fulfilled our requisites. Unlading our 
dromedaries, we raised, with no slight labour, our tent be- 
neath the foliage, and at its entrance installed our faithful 
porter, Arsalan, a dog whose size, strength, and courage well 


16 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


entitled him to his appellation, which, in the Tartar-Mongol 
dialect, means “ Lion.” Collecting some argols* and dry 
branches of trees, our kettle was soon in agitation, and we 
threw into the boiling water some Kouamien, prepared paste, 
something like vermicelli, which, seasoned with some parings 
of bacon, given us by our friends at Yan-Pa-Eul, we hoped 
would furnish satisfaction for the hunger that began to gnaw 
us. No sooner was the repast ready than each of us, drawing 
forth from his girdle his wooden cup, filled it with Kowamien 
and raised it to his lips. The preparation was detestable — 
uneatable. The manufacturers of Kouamien always salt it 
for its longer preservation; but this paste of ours had been 
salted beyond all endurance. Even Arsalan would not eat 
the composition. Soaking it for a while in cold water, we once 
more boiled it up, but in vain; the dish remained nearly as 
salt as ever: so, abandoning it to Samdadchiemba, whose 
stomach by long use was capable of anything, we were fain 
to content ourselves with the “ dry-cold,” as the Chinese 
say; and, taking with us a couple of small loaves, walked 
into the Imperial Forest, in order at least to season our re- 
past with an agreeable walk. Our first nomad supper, how- 
ever, turned out better than we had expected, Providence 
placing in our path numerous Ngao-la-Eul and Chan-ly- 
Houng trees, the former a shrub about five inches high, which 
bears a pleasant wild cherry; the other also a low but very 
bushy shrub, producing a small scarlet apple, of a sharp agree- 
able flavour, of which a very succulent jelly is made. 


The Imperial Forest. The Great Obo. 

The Imperial Forest extends more than a hundred 
leagues from north to south and nearly eighty from east to 
west. The Emperor Khan-Hi, in one of his expeditions into 


8 Dried dung, which constitutes the chief, and indeed in many places 
the sole fuel in Tartary. 


THE IMPERIAL FOREST 17 


Mongolia, adopted it as a hunting-ground. He repaired 
thither every year, and his successors regularly followed his 
example, down to Kia-King, who, upon a hunting excursion, 
was killed by lightning at Ge-ho-Eul. There has been no im- 
perial hunting there since that time — now twenty-seven 
years ago. Tao-Kouang, son and successor of Kia-King, being 
persuaded that a fatality impends over the exercise of the 
chase, since his accession to the throne has never set foot in 
Ge-ho-Eul, which may be regarded as the Versailles of the 
Chinese potentates. The forest, however, and the animals 
which inhabit it, have been no gainers by the circumstance. 
Despite the penalty of perpetual exile decreed against all 
who shall be found with arms in their hands in the forest, it 
is always half full of poachers and wood-cutters. Gamekeep- 
ers, indeed, are stationed at intervals throughout the forest; 
but they seem there merely for the purpose of enjoying a 
monopoly of the sale of game and wood. They let anyone 
steal either, provided they themselves get the larger share 
of the booty. The poachers are in especial force from the 
fourth to the seventh moon. At this period the antlers of the 
stags send forth new shoots, which contain a sort of half- 
coagulated blood, called Lou-joung, which plays a distin- 
guished part in the Chinese materia medica, for its supposed 
chemical qualities, and fetches accordingly an exorbitant 
price. A Lou-joung sometimes sells for as much as a hundred 
and fifty ounces of silver. 

Deer of all kinds abound in the forest; and tigers, bears, 
wild-boars, panthers, and wolves are scarcely less numerous. 
Woe to the hunters and wood-cutters who venture otherwise 
than in large parties into the recesses of the forest; they 
disappear, leaving no vestige behind. 

The fear of encountering one of these wild beasts kept 
us from prolonging our walk. Besides, night was setting 
in, and we hastened back to our tent. Our first slumber in 


18 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


the desert was peaceful, and next morning early, after a 
breakfast of oatmeal steeped in tea, we resumed our march 
along the great plateau. We soon reached the great odo, 
whither the Tartars resort to worship the Spirit of the Moun- 
tain. The monument is simply an enormous pile of stones, 
heaped up without any order and surmounted with dried 
branches of trees, from which hang bones and strips of cloth, 
on which are inscribed verses in the Thibet and Mongol lan- 
guages. At its base is a large granite urn in which the devotees 
burn incense. They offer, besides, pieces of money, which 
the next Chinese passenger, after sundry ceremonious genu- 
flexions before the obo, carefully collects and pockets for his 
own particular benefit. 

These obos, which occur so frequently throughout Tar- 


tary, and which are the objects of constant pilgrimages on the . 


part of the Mongols, remind one of the loca excelsa de- 
nounced by the Jewish prophets. 


The Kingdom of Gechekten. How the Mongols are Ruined by the 
Chinese. 

It was near noon before the ground, beginning to 
slope, intimated that we approached the termination of 
the plateau. We then descended rapidly into a deep val- 
ley, where we found a small Mongolian encampment, which 
we passed without pausing, and set up our tent for the night 
on the margin of a pool farther on. We were now in the 
kingdom of Gechekten, an undulating country, well watered, 
with abundance of fuel and pasturage, but desolated by 
bands of robbers. The Chinese, who have long since taken 
possession of it, have rendered it a sort of general refuge 
for malefactors; so that “ man of Gechekten ” has become 
a synonym for a person without fear of God or man, who will 
commit any murder and shrink from no crime. It would seem 
as though, in this country, nature resented the encroachments 


ee ee 


THE KINGDOM OF GECHEKTEN 19 


of man upon her rights. Wherever the plougn has passed, 
the soil has become poor, arid, and sandy, producing nothing 
but oats, which constitute the food of the people. In the whole 
district there is but one trading town, which the Mongols call 
Altan-Somé (Temple of Gold). This was at first a great 
lamasery, containing nearly two thousand lamas. By degrees 
Chinese have settled there, in order to traffic with the Tar- 
tars. In 1843, when we had occasion to visit this place, it 
had already acquired the importance of a town. A highway, 
commencing at Altan-Somé, proceeds towards the north and, 
after traversing the country of the Khalkhas, the river 
Keroulan, and the Khinggan mountains, reaches Nerchinsk, 
a town of Siberia. 

The sun had just set, and we were occupied inside the 
tent boiling our tea, when Arsalan warned us, by his bark- 
ing, of the approach of some stranger. We soon heard the 
trot of a horse, and presently a mounted Tartar appeared at 
the door. “ Mendou,” he exclaimed, by way of respectful 
salutation to the supposed lamas, raising his joined hands at 
the same time to his forehead. When we invited him to drink 
a cup of tea with us, he fastened his horse to one of the tent- 
pegs and seated himself by the hearth. “ Sirs Lamas,” said 
he, “‘ under what quarter of the heavens were you born? ” 
“ We are from the western heaven; and you, whence come 
you? ” “ My poor abode is towards the north, at the end of 
the valley you see there on our right.” “ Your country is a 
fine country.” The Mongol shook his head sadly and made no 
reply. “ Brother,” we proceeded, after a moment’s silence, 
“the Land of Grass is still very extensive in the kingdom of 
Gechekten. Would it not be better to cultivate your plains? 
What good are these bare lands to you? Would not fine crops 
of corn be preferable to mere grass? ” He replied, with a 
tone of deep and settled conviction: “We Mongols are 
formed for living in tents and pasturing cattle. So long as 


20 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


we kept to that in the kingdom of Gechekten, we were rich 
and happy. Now, ever since the Mongols have set themselves 
to cultivating the land and building houses, they have become 
poor. The Kitat (Chinese) have taken possession of the coun- 
try; flocks, herds, lands, houses, all have passed into their 
hands. There remain to us only a few prairies, on which still 
live, under their tents, such of the Mongols as have not been 
forced by utter destitution to emigrate to other lands.” “ But 
if the Chinese are so baneful to you, why did you let them 
penetrate into your country? ” “ Your words are the words 
of truth, Sirs Lamas; but you are aware that the Mongols are 
men of simple hearts. We took pity on these wicked Kitats, 
who came to us weeping, to solicit our charity. We allowed 
them, through pure compassion, to cultivate a few patches of 
land. The Mongols insensibly followed their example, and 
abandoned the nomadic life. They drank the wine of the 
Kitats and smoked their tobacco, on credit; they bought their 
manufactures on credit at double the real value. When the 
day of payment came, there was no money ready, and the 
Mongols had to yield, to the violence of their creditors, 
houses, lands, flocks, everything.” “ But could you not seek 
justice from the tribunals? ” “ Justice from the tribunals! 
Oh, that is out the question. The Kitats are skilful to talk and 
to lie. It is impossible for a Mongol to gain a suit against a 
Kitat. Sirs Lamas, the kingdom of Gechekten is undone! ” 
So saying, the poor Mongol rose, bowed, mounted his horse, 
and rapidly disappeared in the desert. 


Tragic Exploitation of a Gold Mine, 


We travelled two more days through this kingdom and 
everywhere witnessed the poverty and wretchedness of its 
scattered inhabitants. Yet the country is naturally endowed 
with astonishing wealth, especially in gold and silver mines, 
which of themselves have occasioned many of its worst ca- 


EXPLOITATION OF A MINE 21 


lamities. Notwithstanding the rigorous prohibition to work 
these mines, it sometimes happens that large bands of Chinese 
outlaws assemble together and march, sword in hand, to dig 
into them. These are men professing to be endowed with a 
peculiar capacity for discovering the precious metals, guided, 
according to their own account, by the conformation of moun- 
tains, and the sorts of plants they produce. One single man, 
possessed of this fatal gift, will suffice to spread desolation 
over a whole district. He speedily finds himself at the head 
of thousands and thousands of outcasts, who overspread the 
country and render it the theatre of every crime. While some 
are occupied in working the mines, others pillage the sur- 
rounding districts, sparing neither persons nor property and 
committing excesses which the imagination could not con- 
ceive and which continue until some mandarin, powerful 
and courageous enough to suppress them, is brought within 
their operation and takes measures against them accordingly. 

Calamities of this nature have frequently desolated 
the kingdom of Gechekten; but none of them are comparable 
with what happened in the kingdom of Ouniot, in 1841. 
A Chinese mine-discoverer, having ascertained the presence 
of gold in a particular mountain, announced the discovery, 
and robbers and vagabonds at once congregated around him, 
from far and near, to the number of twelve thousand. This 
hideous mob put the whole country under subjection and ex- 
ercised for two years its fearful sway. Almost the entire 
mountain passed through the crucible, and such enormous 
quantities of metal were produced that the price of gold fell 
in China fifty per cent. The inhabitants complained inces- 
santly to the Chinese mandarins, but in vain, for these 
worthies interfere only where they can do so with some bene- 
fit to themselves. The King of Ouniot himself feared to 
measure his strength with such an army of desperadoes. 

One day, however, the Queen of Ouniot, repairing on 


22 ‘ TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


a pilgrimage to the tomb of her ancestors, had to pass the 
valley in which the army of miners was assembled. Her car 
was surrounded, she was rudely compelled to alight, and it 
was only upon the sacrifice of her jewels that she was per- 
mitted to proceed. Upon her return home she reproached 


MILITARY MANDARIN. 


the King bitterly for his cowardice. At length, stung by her 
words, he assembled the troops of his two banners and 
marched against the miners. The engagement which ensued 
was for a while doubtful, but at length the miners were 
driven in by the Tartar cavalry, who massacred them with- 
out mercy. The bulk of the survivors took refuge in the 
mine. The Mongols blocked up the apertures with huge 


STOLEN HORSES 22 


stones. The cries of the despairing wretches within were 
heard for a few days and then ceased for ever. Those of the 
miners who were taken alive had their eyes put out and were 
then dismissed. 


Stolen Horses. Samdadchiemba, Caster of Horoscopes. 


We had just quitted the kingdom of Gechekten and 
entered that of Thakar, when we came to a military en- 
campment, where were stationed a party of Chinese soldiers 
charged with the preservation of the public safety. The hour 
of repose had arrived; but these soldiers, instead of giving 
us confidence by their presence, increased, on the contrary, 
our fears; for we knew that they were themselves the most 
daring robbers in the whole district. We turned aside, there- 
fore, and ensconced ourselves between two rocks, where we 
found just space enough for our tent. We had scarcely set 
up our temporary abode when we observed, in the distance, 
on the slope of the mountains, a numerous body of horsemen 
at full gallop. Their rapid but irregular evolutions seemed to 
indicate that they were pursuing something which constantly 
evaded them. By and by, two of the horsemen, perceiving us, 
dashed up to our tent, dismounted, and threw themselves on 
the ground at the door. They were Tartar-Mongols. “ Men 
of prayer,” said they, with voices full of emotion, “ we come 
to ask you to draw our horoscope. We have this day had two 
horses stolen from us. We have fruitlessly sought traces of 
the robbers, and we therefore come to you, men whose power 
and learning is beyond all limit, to tell us where we shall find 
our property.” “ Brothers,” said we, “we are not lamas of 
Buddha; we do not believe in horoscopes. For a man to say 
that he can, by any such means, discover that which is stolen, 
is for him to put forth the words of falsehood and decep- 
tion.” The poor Tartars redoubled their solicitations; but 
when they found that we were inflexible in our resolution, 


24. TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


they remounted their horses, in order to return to the moun- 
tains. 

Samdadchiemba, meanwhile, had been silent, apparently 
paying no attention to the incident, but fixed at the fireplace, 
with his bowl of tea to his lips. All of a sudden he knitted 
his brows, rose, and came to the door. The horsemen were at 
some distance; but the Dchiahour, by an exertion of his 
strong lungs, induced them to turn round in their saddles. 
He motioned to them, and they, supposing we had relented 
and were willing to draw the desired horoscope, galloped 
once more towards us. When they had come within speaking 
distance, “ My Mongol brothers,” cried Samdadchiemba, 
“in future be more careful; watch your herds well and you 
won’t be robbed. Retain these words of mine on your mem- 
ory: they are worth all the horoscopes in the world.” After 
this friendly address he gravely re-entered the tent and, 
seating himself at the hearth, resumed his tea. 

We were at first somewhat disconcerted by this singular 
proceeding; but as the horsemen themselves did not take 
the matter in ill part, but quietly rode off, we burst into a 
laugh. “Stupid Mongols! ” grumbled Samdadchiemba; 
“ they don’t take the trouble to watch their animals, and then, 
when they are stolen from them, they run about wanting 
people to draw horoscopes for them. After all, perhaps, it’s 
no wonder, for nobody but ourselves tells them the truth. 
The lamas encourage them in their credulity, for they turn 


it into a source of income. It is difficult to deal with such — 


people. If you tell them you can’t draw a horoscope, they 
don’t believe you, and merely suppose you don’t choose to 
oblige them. To get rid of them, the best way is to give them 
an answer haphazard.” And here Samdadchiemba laughed 
with such expansion that his little eyes were completely 
buried. “ Did you ever draw a horoscope? ” asked we. “ Yes,” 
replied he, still laughing. “I was very young at the time, 


F 
a 

, 
4 
4 
4 

; 


CASTER OF HOROSCOPES 25 


not more than fifteen. I was travelling through the Red 
Banner of Thakar when I was addressed by some Mongols 
who led me into their tent. There they entreated me to tell 
them, by means of divination, where a bull had strayed, 
which had been missing three days. It was to no purpose that 
I protested to them I coud not perform divination, that I 
could not even read. ‘ You deceive us,’ said they; ‘ you are a 
Dchiahour, and we know that the western lamas can all divine 
more or less.’ As the only way of extricating myself from the 
dilemma, I resolved to imitate what I had seen the lamas 
do in their divinations. I directed one person to collect eleven 
sheep’s droppings, the driest he could find. They were im- 
mediately brought. I then seated myself very gravely; I 
counted the droppings over and over; I arranged them in 
rows and then counted them again; I rolled them up and 
down in threes, and then appeared to meditate. At last I 
said to the Mongols, who were impatiently awaiting the re- 
sult of the horoscope: ‘ If you would find your bull, go seek 
him towards the north.’ Before the words were well out of 
my mouth, four men were on horseback, galloping off to- 
wards the north. By the most curious chance in the world, 
they had not proceeded far before the missing animal made 
its appearance, quietly browsing. I at once got the character 
of a diviner of the first class, was entertained in the most 
liberal manner for a week, and when I departed, had a stock 
of butter and tea given me enough for another week. Now 
that I belong to Holy Church, I know that these things are 
wicked and prohibited; otherwise I would have given these 
horsemen a word or two of horoscope, which perhaps would 
have procured for us, in return, a good cup of tea, with 
butter.” 

~The stolen horses confirmed in our minds the ill repu- 
tation of the country in which we were now encamped, and 
we felt ourselves necessitated to take additional precaution. 


26 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Before nightfall we brought in the horse and the mule and 
fastened them by cords to pins at the door of our tent and 
made the camels kneel by their side, so as to close up the en- 
trance. By this arrangement no one could get near us without 
our having full warning given us by the camels, which, at 
the least noise, always make an outcry loud enough to awaken 
the deepest sleeper. Finally, having suspended from one 
of the tent-poles our travelling-lantern, which we kept burn- 
ing all the night, we endeavoured to obtain a little repose, 
but in vain; the night passed away without our getting a wink 
of sleep. As to the Dchiahour, whom nothing ever troubled, 
we heard him snoring with all the might of his lungs until 
day-break. 


Nearing Tolon-Noor, 


We made our preparations for departure very early, 
for we were eager to quit this ill-famed place, and to reach 
Tolon-Noor, which was now distant only a few leagues. 

On our way thither, a horseman stopped his galloping 
steed and, after looking at us for a moment, addressed us: 
“You are the chiefs of the Christians of the Contiguous 
Defiles? ” Upon our replying in the affirmative he dashed 
off again, but turned his head once or twice to have another 
look at us. He was a Mongol, who had charge of some herds 
at the Contiguous Defiles. He had often seen us there, but 
the novelty of our present costume at first prevented his 
recognizing us. We met also the Tartars who, the day before, 
had asked us to draw a horoscope for them. They had re- 
paired by day-break to the horse-fair at Tolon-Noor, in the 
hope of finding their stolen animals; but their search had 
been unsuccessful. 

The increasing number of travellers, Tartars and Chi- 
nese, whom we now met indicated the approach to the great 
town of Tolon-Noor. We already saw in the distance, glitter- 


eee SS ae ee ee oe Se 


ee ee ee gr | ween 


Le ee Oe Tae, Ce ee ee a ee ae ee a ee ee 


q 
q 

f 

4 
wi 
4 

q 


NEARING TOLON—NOOR 27 


ing under the sun’s rays, the gilt roofs of two magnificent 
lamaseries that stand in the northern suburbs of the town. We 
journeyed for some time through a succession of cemeteries; 
for here, as elsewhere, the present generation is surrounded 
by the ornamental sepulchres of past generations. As we 
observed the numerous population of that large town, en- 
vironed, as it were, by a vast circle of bones and monumental 
stones, it seemed as though death was continuously engaged 
in the blockade of life. Here and there in the vast cemetery 
which completely encircles the city we remarked little gar- 
dens, where by dint of extreme labour a few miserable vegeta- 
bles were extracted from the earth: leeks, spinach, hard, 
bitter lettuces, and cabbages, which, introduced some years 
since from Russia, have adapted themselves exceedingly well 
to the climate of northern China. 

With the exception of these few esculents the environs 
of Tolon-Noor produce absolutely nothing whatever. The 
soil is dry and sandy, and water terribly scarce. It is only 
here and there that a few limited springs are Oe and 
these are dried up in the hot season. 


4 


DOS ONES PONS PONS 


CHAP GE Bala 


Our entrance into the city of Tolon-Noor was fatiguing and 
full of perplexity, for we knew not where to take up our 
abode. We wandered about for a long time in a labyrinth of 
narrow, tortuous streets, encumbered with men and animals 
and goods. At last we found an inn. We unloaded our drome- 
daries, deposited the baggage in a small room, foddered the 
animals, and then, having affixed to the door of our room 
the padlock which, as is the custom, our landlord gave us 
for that purpose, we sallied forth in quest of dinner. A tri- 
angular flag floating before a house in the next street indi- 
cated to our joyful hearts an eating-house. A long passage 
led us into a spacious apartment, in which were symmetri- 
cally set forth a number of little tables. As soon as we had 
seated ourselves at one of these, a tea-pot, the inevitable 
prelude in these countries to every meal, was set before each 
of us. You must swallow infinite tea, and that boiling hot, be- 
fore they will consent to bring you anything else. At last, 
when they see you thus occupied, the Comptroller of the 
Table pays you his official visit, a personage of immensely 
elegant manners and ceaseless volubility of tongue, who, after 
entertaining you with his views upon the affairs of the world 
in general and each country in particular, concludes by an- 
nouncing what there is to eat and requesting your judgment 
thereupon. As you mention the dishes you desire, he repeats 
their names in a measured chant, for the information of the 
Governor of the Pot. Your dinner is served up with admirable 
promptitude; but before you commence the meal, etiquette 


; , EY ; « 5h : 
en a Se ee ee ee ee NS ne ae — 


Cro ie 
ee, —_ ‘ 
ee 


—— 
pe 


TOLON—NOOR 29 


requires that you rise from your seat and invite all the other 
company present to partake. “‘ Come,” you say, with an en- 
gaging gesture, “come, my friends, come and drink a glass 
of wine with me; come and eat a plate of rice ”; and so on. 
“ No, thank you,” replies everybody; “‘ do you rather come 
and seat yourself at my table. It is I who invite you”; and 
so the matter ends. By this ceremony you have “ manifested 
your honour,” as the phrase runs, and you may now sit down 
and eat in comfort, your character as a gentleman perfectly es- 
tablished. 

When you rise to depart, the Comptroller of the Table 
again appears. As you cross the apartment with him, he 
chants over again the names of the dishes you have had, this 
time appending the prices and terminating with the sum 
total, announced with especial emphasis, which, proceeding 
to the counter, you then deposit in the money-box. In general, 
the Chinese restaurateurs are quite as skilful as those of 
France in exciting the vanity of the guests and promoting the 
consumption of their commodities. 


Tolon-Noor: Its Commerce, Its Art Foundries. Influence of Occidental 
Religion. 

Two motives had induced us to direct our steps, in the 
first instance, to Tolon-Noor: we desired to make more pur- 
chases there to complete our travelling-equipment, and, sec- 
ondly, it appeared to us necessary to place ourselves in com- 
munication with the lamas of the country, in order to obtain 
information from them as to the more important localities 
of Tartary. The purchases we needed to make gave us occa- 
sion to visit the different quarters of the town. Tolon-Noor 
(Seven Lakes) is called by the Chinese Lama-Miao (Con- 
vent of Lamas). The Manchus designate it Nadan-Omo, and 
the Thibetians, Tsot-Dun, both translations of Tolon-Noor, 
and, equally with it, meaning “ Seven Lakes.” 


30 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Tolon-Noor is not a walled city, but a vast agglomera- 
tion of hideous houses, which seem to have been thrown to- 
gether with a pitchfork. The carriage portion of the streets 
is a marsh of mud and putrid filth, deep enough to stifle and 
bury the smaller beasts of burden that not unfrequently fall 
within it, and whose carcasses remain to aggravate the general 
stench, while their loads become the prey of the innumerable 
thieves who are ever on the alert. The foot-path is a nar- 
row, rugged, slippery line on either side, just wide enough 
to admit the passage of one person. 

Yet, despite the nastiness of the town itself, the steril- 
ity of the environs, the excessive cold of its winter, and the 
intolerable heat of its summer, its population is immense and 
its commerce enormous. Russian merchandise is brought 
hither in large quantities by the way of Kiakhta. The Tartars 
bring incessant herds of camels, oxen, and horses, and carry 
back in exchange tobacco, linen, and tea. This constant arrival 
and departure of strangers communicates to the city an ani- 
mated and varied aspect. All sorts of hawkers are at every 
corner offering their petty wares; the regular traders, from 
behind their counters, invite, with honeyed words and tempt- 
ing offers, the passers-by to come in and buy. The lamas, in 
their red and yellow robes, gallop up and down, seeking 


admiration for their equestrianism and the skilful gegter | 


ment of their fiery steeds. 

The trade of Tolon-Noor is mostly in the hands of men 
from the province of Chan-Si, who seldom establish them- 
selves permanently in the town, but after a few years, when 
their money-chest is filled, return to their own country. In 
this vast emporium the Chinese invariably make fortunes, 
and the Tartars invariably are ruined. Tolon-Noor, in fact, 
is a sort of great pneumatic pump, constantly at work in 
emptying the pockets of the unlucky Mongols. 

The magnificent statues, in bronze and brass, which 


ee ae. ee ee ee eS eS —  — a ms ee ee, e —_—. ~ 


eee eee eee 


— oe S Awe 


COMMERCE AND FOUNDRIES 31 


issue from the great foundries of Tolon-Noor are celebrated 
not only throughout Tartary, but in the remotest districts 
of Thibet. Its immense workshops supply all the countries 
subject to the worship of Buddha with idols, bells, and vases 
employed in that idolatry. While we were in the town, a 
monster statue of Buddha, a present from a friend of 


Oudchou-Mourdchin to the Tale-Lama, was packed for 


BELL AND IDOL FOUNDRY. 


Thibet, on the backs of eighty-four camels. The larger stat- 
ues are cast in detail, the component parts being afterwards 
soldered together. 

We availed ourselves of our stay at Tolon-Noor to 
have a figure of Christ constructed on the model of a bronze 
original which we had brought with us from France. The 
workmen so marvellously excelled that it was difficult to 
distinguish the copy from the original. The Chinese work 
more rapidly and cheaply, and their complaisance contrasts 


Ae TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


most favourably with the tenacious self-opinion of their 
brethren in Europe. 

During our stay at Tolon-Noor we had frequent c occa- 
sion to visit the lamaseries, or lama monasteries, and to con- 
verse with the idolatrous priests of Buddhism. The lamas 
appeared to us persons of very limited information; and as 
to their symbolism, in general it is little more refined or 
purer than the creed of the vulgar. Their doctrine is still un- 
decided, fluctuating amidst a vast fanaticism of which they 
can give no intelligible account. When we asked them for 
some distinct, clear, positive idea what they meant, they were 
always thrown into utter embarrassment, and stared at one 
another. The disciples told us that their masters knew all 
about it; the masters referred us to the omniscience of the 
Grand Lamas; the Grand Lamas confessed themselves ignor- 
ant, but talked of some wonderful saint, in some lamasery at 
the other end of the country: 4e could explain the whole af- 
fair. However, all of them, disciples and masters, great 
lamas and small, agreed in this, that their doctrine came from 
the West: “ The nearer you approach the West,” said they 
unanimously, “ the purer and more luminous will the doc- 
trine manifest itself.’ When we expounded to them the 
truths of Christianity, they never discussed the matter; they 
contented themselves with calmly saying: “ Well, we don’t 
suppose that our prayers are the only prayers in the world. 
The lamas of the West will explain everything to you. We 
believe in the traditions that have come from the West.” 

In point of fact, there is no lamasery of any importance 
in Tartary the Grand Lama or superior of which is not a man 
from Thibet. Any Tartar lama who has visited Lhasa (Land 
of Spirits), or Monhe-Dhot (Eternal Sanctuary) as it is 
called in the Mongol dialect, is received on his return as a 
man to whom the mysteries of the past and of the future 
have been unveiled. 


PICTURESQUE ENCAMPMENT 33 


Picturesque Encampment, Culinary Progress. Tea in Bricks. 


After maturely weighing the information we had ob- 
tained from the lamas, it was decided that we should direct 
our steps towards the west. On October 1st we quitted Tolon- 
Noor, and it was not without infinite trouble that we man- 
aged to traverse the filthy town with our camels. The poor 
animals could get through the quagmire streets only by fits 
and starts; it was first a stumble, then a convulsive jump, then 
another stumble and another jump, and so on. Their loads 
shook on their backs, and at every step we expected to see 
the camel and camel-load prostrate in the mud. We con- 
sidered ourselves lucky when, at distant intervals, we came 
to a comparatively dry spot, where the camels could travel, 
and we were thus enabled to readjust and tighten the bag- 
gage. Samdadchiemba got into a desperate ill temper; he 
went on, and slipped, and went on again, without uttering a 
single word, restricting the visible manifestation of his wrath 
to a continuous biting of the lips. 

Upon attaining at length the western extremity of the 
town, we got clear of the filth indeed, but found ourselves 
involved in another evil. Before us there was no road marked 
out, not the slightest trace of even a path. There was noth- 
ing but an apparently interminable chain of small hills, com- 
posed of fine, moving sand, over which it was impossible 
to advance at more than a snail’s pace, and this only with 
extreme labour. Among these sand-hills, moreover, we were 
oppressed with an absolutely stifling heat. Our animals were 
covered with perspiration, ourselves devoured with a burn- 
ing thirst; but it was in vain that we looked round in all di- 
rections, as we proceeded, for water; not a spring, not a pool, 
not a drop presented itself. 

It was already late and we began to fear we should find 
no spot favourable for the erection of our tent. The ground, 


34 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


however, grew by degrees firmer, and we at last discerned 
some signs of vegetation. By and by the sand almost disap- 
peared, and our eyes were rejoiced with the sight of continu- 
ous verdure. On our left, at no great distance, we saw the 
opening of a defile. M. Gabet urged on his camel and went to 
examine the spot. He soon made his appearance at the sum- 
mit of a hill and with voice and hand directed us to follow 
him. We hastened on and found that Providence had led us to 
a favourable position. A small pool, the waters of which were 
half concealed by thick reeds and other marshy vegetation, 
some brushwood, a plot of grass: what could we under the 
circumstances desire more? Hungry, thirsty, weary as we 
were, the place seemed a perfect Eden. 

The camels were no sooner squatted than we all three, 
with one accord and without a word said, seized each man his 
wooden cup and rushed to the pond to satisfy his thirst. The 
water was fresh enough, but it affected the nose violently with 
its strong muriatic odour. I remembered to have drunk water 
just like it in the Pyrenees, at the good town of Ax, and to 
have seen it for sale in the chemists’? shops elsewhere in 
France; and I remembered further that by reason of its be- 
ing particularly stinking and particularly nasty it was sold 
there at fifteen sous per bottle. 

After we had quenched our thirst, our strength by de- 
grees returned, and we were then able to fix our tent, and 
each man to set about his especial task. M. Gabet proceeded 
to cut some bundles of hornbeam wood; Samdadchiemba col- 
lected argols in the flaps of his jacket; and M. Huc, seated 
at the entrance of the tent, tried his hand at drawing a fowl, 
a process which Arsalan, stretched at his side, watched with 
greedy eye, having immediate reference to the entrails in 
course of removal. We were resolved, for once and away, to 
have a little festival in the desert, and to take the opportunity 


eee eS ae ee eS a ee SE ee << ae Jy 


a. oor —- 


~ 


TEA IN BRICKS 35 


to indulge our patriotism by initiating our Dchiahour in the 
luxury of a dish prepared according to the rules of the cus- 
simier francais. Vhe fowl, artistically dismembered, was placed 
at the bottom of our great pot. A few roots of synapia, pre- 
pared in salt water, some onions, a clove of garlic, and some 
allspice constituted the seasoning. The preparation was soon 
boiling, for we were that day rich in fuel. Samdadchiemba 
by and by plunged his hand into the pot, drew out a limb of 
the fowl, and, after carefully inspecting it, pronounced sup- 
per to be ready. The pot was taken from the trivet and placed 
upon the grass. We all three seated ourselves around it, so 
that our knees almost touched it, and each, armed with two 
chopsticks, fished out the pieces he desired from the abundant 
broth before him. 

When the meal was completed, and we had thanked 
God for the repast he had thus provided us with in the des- 
ert, Samdadchiemba went and washed the cauldron in the 
pond. That done, he brewed us some tea. The tea used by 
the Tartars is not prepared in the same way as that consumed 
by the Chinese. The latter, it is known, merely employ the 
smaller and tenderer leaves of the plant, which they simply 
infuse in boiling water, so as to give it a golden tint; the 
coarser leaves, with which are mixed up the smaller tendrils, 
are pressed together in a mould, in the form and of the size 
of the ordinary house brick. Thus prepared, it becomes an 
article of considerable commerce, under the designation of 
Tartar tea, the Tartars being its exclusive consumers, with 
the exception of the Russians, who drink great quantities of 
it. When required for use, a piece of the brick is broken off, 
pulverized, and boiled in the kettle until the water assumes a 
reddish hue. Some salt is then thrown in, and effervescence 
commences. When the liquid has become almost black, milk 
is added, and the beverage, the grand luxury of the Tartars, 


36 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


is then transferred to the tea-pot. Samdadchiemba was a per- 
fect enthusiast of this tea. For our parts, we drank it in de- 
fault of something better. 


Encounter with a Queen of the Khalkhas. 


Next morning, after rolling up our tent, we quitted 
this asylum without regret indeed, for we had selected and 
occupied it altogether without preference. We had not ad- 
vanced an hour’s journey on our way when we heard behind us 
the trampling of many horses, and the confused sound of 
many voices. We looked back and saw hastening in our direc- 
tion a numerous caravan. Three horsemen soon overtook us, 
one of whom, whose costume bespoke him a Tartar mandarin, 
addressed us with a loud voice: ‘ Sirs, where is your coun- 
try? ” “We come from the west.” “ Through what districts 
has your beneficial shadow passed? ” “‘ We have last come 
from Tolon-Noor.” “Has peace accompanied your prog- 
ress? ” “ Hitherto we have journeyed in all tranquillity. And 
you: are you at peace? And what is your country? ” “ We are 
Khalkhas, of the kingdom of Mourguevan.” “ Have the 
rains been abundant? Are your flocks and herds flourishing? ” 
“ All goes well in our pasture-grounds.” “‘ Whither proceeds 
your caravan? ” “ We go to incline our foreheads before the 
Five Towers.” The rest of the caravan had joined us in the 
course of this abrupt and hurried conversation. We were on 
the banks of a small stream, bordered with brushwood. The 
chief of the caravan ordered a halt, and the camels formed, ~ 
as each came up, a circle, in the centre of which was drawn 
up a close carriage upon four wheels. “Sok! sok! ” cried the 
camel-drivers, and at the word and as with one motion the 
entire circle of intelligent animals knelt. While numerous 
tents, taken from their backs, were set up, as it were, by en- 
chantment, two mandarins, decorated with the blue button, 
approached the carriages, opened the door, and handed out 


DELUGE 37 


a Tartar lady, covered with a long, silk robe. She was the 
Queen of the Khalkhas, repairing in pilgrimage to the fa- 
mous Lamasery of the Five Towers, in the province of 
Chan-Si. When she saw us, she saluted us with the ordinary 
form of raising both her hands, “ Sirs Lamas,” she said, “ is 
this place auspicious for an encampment? ” “ Royal Pilgrim 
of Mourguevan,” we replied, “you may light your fires 
here in all security. For ourselves, we must proceed on our 
way, for the sun was already high when we folded our tent.” 
And so saying, we took our leave of the Tartars of Mour- 
guevan. 

Our minds were deeply excited upon beholding this 
queen and her numerous suite performing this long pilgrim- 
age through the desert: no danger, no distance, no expense, 
no privation deters the Mongols from the prosecution of 
pilgrimages. The Mongols are, indeed, an essentially re- 
ligious people; with them the future life is everything, the 
things of this world nothing. They live in the world as though 
they were not of it; they cultivate no lands, they build no 
houses; they regard themselves as foreigners travelling 
through life; and this feeling, deep and universal, develops 
itself in the practical form of incessant journeys. 


Deluge. How One Tartar Vanquished the English. 


We had left far behind us the pilgrims of Mourguevan 
and began to regret that we had not encamped in their com- 
pany upon the banks of the pleasant stream and amid the 
fat pastures which it fed. Sensations of fear grew upon us 
as we saw great clouds arise in the horizon, spread, and 
gradually obscure the sky. We looked anxiously around, in 
all directions, for a place in which we could commodiously 
halt for the night, but we saw no indication whatever of 
water. While we were deep in this perplexity, some large 
drops of rain told us that we had no time to lose. “ Let us 


38 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


make haste and set up the tent,” cried Samdadchiemba vehe- 
mently. “ You need not trouble yourselves any more in 
looking for water; you will have water enough presently. 
Let us get under shelter before the sky falls on our heads.” 
“That is all very well,” said we, “‘ but we must have some 
water for the animals and ourselves to drink. You alone re- 
quire a bucket of water for your tea every evening. Where 
shall we find some water? ” “ My fathers, you will very 
speedily have more water than you like. Let us encamp, 
that’s the first thing to be done. As to thirst, no one will need 
to die of that this evening: dig but a few holes about the 
tent, and they’ll soon overflow with rain-water. But we need 
not even dig holes,” added Samdadchiemba, extending his 
right hand; “ do you see that shepherd there and his flock? 
You may be sure water is not far off.” Following with our 
eyes the direction of his finger, we perceived in a lateral 
valley a man driving a large flock of sheep. We immediately 
turned aside and hastened after the man. The rain, which 
now began to fall in torrents, redoubled our celerity. To ag- 
egravate our distress, the lading of ‘one of the camels just at 
this moment became loose and slipped right round towards 
the ground, and we had to wait while the camel knelt and 
Samdadchiemba readjusted the baggage on its back. We were, 
consequently, thoroughly wet through before we reached a 
small lake, now agitated and swollen by the falling torrent. 
There was no occasion for deliberating that evening as to 
the particular site on which we should set up our tent; se- 
lection was out of the question when the ground all about 
was deeply saturated with the rain. 

The violence of the rain itself mitigated, but the wind 
absolutely raged. We had infinite trouble to unroll our miser- 
able tents, heavy and impracticable with wet, like a large sheet 
just taken from the washing-tub. The difficulty seemed in- 
superable when we attempted to stretch it upon its poles, 
and we should never have succeeded at all but for the ex- 


ENGLISH VANQUISHED BY A TARTAR 39 


traordinary muscular power with which Samdadchiemba was 
endowed. At length we effected a shelter from the wind and 
from a small cold rain with which it was accompanied. When 
our lodging was established, Samdadchiemba addressed us 
in these consolatory words: “ My spiritual fathers, I told you 
we should not die today of thirst, but I am not at all sure 
that we don’t run some risk of dying of hunger.” In point 
of fact, there seemed no possibility of making a fire. There 
was not a tree, not a shrub, not a root to be seen. As to argols, 
they were out of the question; the rain had long since re- 
duced that combustible of the desert to a liquid pulp. 

We had formed our resolution and were on the point of 
making a supper of meal steeped in a little cold water when 
we saw approaching us two Tartars, leading a small camel. 
After the usual salutations, one of them said: “ Sirs Lamas, 
this day the heavens have fallen; you, doubtless, have been 
unable to make a fire.” “ Alas! how should we make a fire, 
when we have no argols? ” “ Men are all brothers and belong 
each to the other. But laymen should honour and serve the 
holy ones; therefore it is that we have come to make a fire 
for you.” The worthy Tartars had seen us setting up our tent, 
and, conceiving our embarrassment, had hastened to relieve it 
by a present of two bundles of argols. We thanked Provi- 
dence for this unexpected succour, and the Dchiahour im- 
mediately made a fire and set about the preparation of an 
oatmeal supper. The quantity was on this occasion augmented 
in favour of the two friends who had so opportunely pre- 
sented themselves. 

During our modest repast we noticed that one of these 
Tartars was the object of especial attention on the part of 
his comrade. We asked him what military grade he occu- 
pied in the Blue Banner. “ When the banners of Tchakar 
marched two years ago against the Rebels of the South,* I 


1 The English, then at war with the Chinese, were designated by the 
Tartars the Rebels of the South, 


40 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


held the rank of Tchouanda.” ‘ What! were you in that 
famous war of the South? But how is it that you, shepherds 
of the plains, have also the courage of soldiers? Accus- 
tomed to a life of peace, one would imagine that you would 
never be reconciled to the terrible trade of a soldier, which 
consists in killing others or being killed yourselves.” “ Yes, 
yes, we are shepherds, it is true; but we never forget that we 
are soldiers also, and that the Eight Banners compose the 
army of reserve of the Grand Master (the Emperor). You 
know the rule of the Empire; when the enemy appears, they 
send against them, first, the Kitat soldiers; next, the banners 
of the Solon country are set in motion. If the war is not fin- 
ished then, all they have to do is to give the signal to the 
banners of the Tchakar, the mere sound of whose march 
always suffices to reduce the rebels to subjection.” 

“Were all the banners of Tchakar called together for 
this southern war? ” “ Yes, all; at first it was thought a small 
matter, and everyone said that it would never affect the 
Tchakar. The troops of Kitat went first, but they did nothing; 
the banners of Solon also marched; but they could not bear 
the heat of the South; then the Emperor sent us his sacred 
order. Each man selected his best horse, removed the dust 
from his bow and quiver, and scraped the rust from his 
lance. In every tent a sheep was killed for the feast of de- 
parture. Women and children wept, but we addressed to 
them the words of reason. ‘ Here,’ said we, ‘ for six genera- 
tions have we received the benefits of the Sacred Master, and 
he has asked from us nothing in return. Now that he has need 
of us, can we hold back? He has given to us the fine region 
of Tchakar to be a pasture-land for our cattle, and at the 
same time a barrier for him against the Khalkhas. But now, 
since it is from the south the rebels came, we must march to 
the south.’ Was not reason in our mouths, Sirs Lamas? Yes, 
we resolved to march. The Sacred Ordinance reached us at 


ENGLISH VANQUISHED BY A TARTAR AI 


sunrise, and already by noon the Bochehons at the head of 
their men stood by the Tchouanda; next to these were the 
Nourou-Tchayn, and then the Qugourda. The same day we 
marched to Peking; from Peking they led us to Tien-Tsin- 
Vei, where we remained for three months.” “Did you 
fight? ” asked Samdadchiemba; “ did you see the enemy? ” 
“No, they did not dare to appear. The Kitat told us every- 


THE EMPEROR TAO-KOUANG, 


where that we were marching upon certain and unavailing 
death. ‘ What can you do,’ asked they, ‘ against sea-monsters? 
They live in the water like fish. When you least expect them, 
they appear on the surface and hur] their fire-bombs at you; 
while, the instant your bow is bent to shoot them, down they 
dive like frogs.’ Then they essayed to frighten us; but we 
soldiers of the Erght Banners know not fear. Before our de- 
parture the great lamas had opened the Book of Celestial Se- 
crets and had thence learned that the matter would end well 


42 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


for us. The Emperor had attached to each Tchouanda a 
lama, learned in medicine and skilled in all the sacred aug- 
uries, who was to cure all the soldiers under him of the dis- 
eases of the climate and to protect us from the magic of 
the sea-monsters. What then had we to fear? The rebels, 
hearing that the invincible troops of Tchakar were approach- 
ing, were seized with fear and sought peace. The Sacred 
Master, of his immense mercy, granted it, and we returned 
to the care of our flocks.” 

The narrative of this “ Illustrious Sword” was to us 
full of intense interest. We forgot for a moment the misery 
of our position amid the desert. We were eager to collect 
further details of the expedition of the English against 
China; but, night falling, the two Tartars took their way 
homeward. 


_ The Red Banner, Awe-inspiring Effect of the Tartar Plains. 


Thus left once more alone, our thoughts became exceed- 
ingly sad and sombre. We shuddered at the idea so recalled to 
us of the long night just commencing. How were we to get 
any sleep? The interior of the tent was little better than a 
mud heap; the great fire we had been keeping up had not 
half dried our clothes; it had merely resolved a portion of the 
water into a thick vapour that steamed about us. The furs 
which we used at night by way of mattress were in a deplora- 
ble condition, not a whit better for the purpose than the skin 
of a drowned cat. In this doleful condition of things a re- 
flection, full of gentle melancholy, came into our minds and 
consoled us; we remembered that we were the disciples of 
Him who said: “ The foxes have holes, and the birds of the 
air have nests: but the Son of man hath not where to lay 
his head.” 

We became so fatigued after remaining awake the 


THE RED BANNER 43 


greater part of the night that, sleep conquering us, we fell 
into a restless doze, seated over the embers of the fire, our 
arms crossed and our heads bent forward, in the most un- 
comfortable position possible. 

It was with extreme delight that we hailed the termina- 
tion of that long and dreary night. At day-break the blue, 
cloudless sky presaged compensation for the wretchedness 
of the preceding evening. By and by the sun, rising clear 
and brilliant, inspired us with the hope that our still wet 
clothes would soon get dry as we proceeded on our way. 
We speedily made all preparations for departure, and the 
caravan set forth. The weather was magnificent. By degrees 
the large grass of the prairie raised its broad head, which had 
been depressed by the heavy rain; the ground became firmer, 
and we experienced with delight the gentle heat of the sun’s 
ascending rays. At last, to complete our satisfaction, we en- 
tered upon the plains of the Red Banner, the most pictur- 
esque of the whole Tchakar. 

Tchakar signifies, in the Mongol tongue, “ Border 
Land.” This country is limited, on the east by the kingdom 
of Gechekten, on the west by Western Toumet, on the north 
by the Souniot, on the south by the Great Wall. Its extent 
is one hundred and fifty leagues long, by one hundred broad. 
The inhabitants of the Tchakar are all paid soldiers of the 
Emperor. The foot-soldiers receive twelve ounces of silver 
per annum, and the cavalry twenty-four. 

It is in these pasturages of the Tchakar that are found 
the numerous and magnificent herds and flocks of the Em- 
peror, consisting of camels, horses, cattle, and sheep. There 
are three hundred and sixty herds of horses alone, each num- 
bering twelve hundred horses. It is easy from this one detail 
to imagine the enormous extent of animals possessed here by 
the Emperor. A Tartar, decorated with the white button, has 


4.4. TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


charge of each herd. At certain intervals inspectors-general 
visit the herds, and if any deficiency in the number is discov- 
ered, the chief herdsman has to make it good at his own cost. 
Notwithstanding this impending penalty, the Tartars do not 
fail to convert to their own use the wealth of the Sacred Mas- 
ter, by means of a fraudulent exchange. Whenever a Chinese 
has a broken-winded horse or a lame ox, he takes it to the 
imperial herdsman, who, for a trifling consideration, allows 
him to select what animal he pleases in exchange from among 
the imperial herds. Being thus always provided with the 
actual number of animals, they can benefit by their fraud in 
perfect security. 

Never in more splendid weather had we traversed a 
more splendid country. The desert is at times horrible, hide- 
ous; but it has also its charms —charms all the more in- 
tensely appreciated because they are rare in themselves and 
because they would in vain be sought in populated countries. 
Tartary has an aspect altogether peculiar to itself: there is 
nothing in the world that at all resembles a Tartar landscape. 
In civilized countries you find at every step populous towns, 
a rich and varied cultivation, the thousand and one produc- 
tions of arts and industry, the incessant movements of com- 
merce. You are constantly impelled onwards, carried away, as 
it were, by some vast whirlwind. On the other hand, in coun- 
tries where civilization has not as yet made its way into the 
light, you ordinarily find nothing but primeval forests in — 
all the pomp of their exuberant and gigantic vegetation. The 
soul seems crushed beneath a nature all-powerful and ma- 
jestic. There is nothing of the kind in Tartary. There are no 
towns, no edifices, no arts, no industry, no cultivation, no 
forests; everywhere it is prairie, sometimes interrupted by 
immense lakes, by majestic rivers, by rugged and imposing 
mountains; sometimes spreading out into vast, limitless 
plains. There, in these verdant solitudes, the bounds of which 


- 


wee 


THE TARTAR PLAINS 45 


seem lost in the remote horizon, you might imagine your- 
self gently rocking on the calm waves of some broad ocean. 
The aspect of the prairies of Mongolia excites neither joy 
nor sorrow, but rather a mixture of the two, a sentiment of 
gentle, religious melancholy which gradually elevates the 
soul, without wholly excluding from its contemplation the 
things of this world; a sentiment which belongs rather to 
heaven than to earth and which seems in admirable conform- 
ity with the nature of intellect served by organs. 

You sometimes in Tartary come upon plains more ani- 
mated than those you have just traversed; they are those 
whither the greater supply of water and the choicest pastures 
have attracted for a time a number of nomadic families. 
There you see rising in all directions tents of various dimen- 
sions, looking like balloons newly inflated and just about to 
take their flight into the air. Children, with a sort of hod at 
their backs, run about collecting argols, which they pile up in 
heaps around their respective tents. The matrons look after 
the calves, make tea in the open air, or prepare milk in vari- 
ous ways; the men, mounted on fiery horses and armed with 
a long pole, gallop about, guiding to the best pastures the 
great herds of cattle which undulate in the distance all 
around, like waves of the sea. 

All of a sudden these pictures, so full of animation, dis- 
appear and you see nothing of that which of late was so full of 
life. Men, tents, herds, all have vanished in the twinkling of 
an eye. You merely see in the desert heaps of embers, half- 
extinguished fires, and a few bones, of which birds of. prey 
are disputing the possession. Such are the sole vestiges which 
announce that a Mongol tribe has just passed that way. If 
you ask the reason of these abrupt migrations, it is simply 
this — the animals having devoured all the grass that grew 
in the vicinity, the chief had given the signal for departure; 
and all the shepherds, folding their tents, had driven their 


46 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


herds before them and proceeded, no matter whither, in 
search of fresh fields and pastures new. 


Tartar Customs. Their Urbanity. A Tartar Tent. Horsemen and Hunters. 


Visiting amongst the Tartars is a frank, simple affair, 
altogether exempt from the endless formalities of Chinese 
gentility. On entering, you give the word of peace, amor or 
mendou, to the company generally. You then seat yourself on 
the right of the head of the family, whom you find squatting 
on the floor opposite the entrance. Next, everybody takes 
from a purse suspended at his girdle a little snuff-bottle, 
and mutual pinches accompany such phrases as these: “ Is 
the pasturage with you rich and abundant? ” “ Are your 
herds in fine condition? ” “Are your mares productive? ” 
“ Did you travel in peace? ” “ Does tranquillity prevail? ” 
and so on. These questions and their answers being inter- 
changed, always with intense gravity on both sides, the mis- 
tress of the tent, without saying a word, holds out her hand 
to the visitor. He as silently takes from his breast-pocket 
the small wooden bowl, the indispensable vade-mecum of 
all Tartars, and presents it to his hostess, who fills it with 
tea and milk, and returns it. In the richer, more easily cir- 
cumstanced families, visitors have a small table placed be- 
fore them, on which is butter, oatmeal, grated millet, and 
bits of cheese, separately contained in little boxes of polished 
wood. These Tartar delicacies the visitors take mixed with 
their tea. Such as propose to treat their guests in a style of 
perfect magnificence make them partakers of a bottle of 
Mongol wine, warmed in the ashes. This wine is nothing 
more than skimmed milk, subjected for a while to vinous fer- 
mentation and distilled through a rude apparatus that does 
the office of an alembic. One must be a thorough Tartar to 
relish or even endure this beverage, the flavour and odour 
of which are alike insipid. 


A TARTAR TENT 47 


The Mongol tent, for about three feet from the ground, 
is cylindrical in form. It then becomes conical, like a pointed 
hat. The woodwork of the tent is composed below of a 
trellis-work of crossed bars, which fold up and expand at 
pleasure. Above these a circle of poles, fixed in the trellis- 
work, meets at the top, like the sticks of an umbrella. Over 
the woodwork is stretched, once or twice, a thick covering of 
coarse linen, and thus the tent is composed. The door, which is 
always a folding door, is low and narrow. A beam crosses 
it at the bottom by way of threshold, so that on entering you 
have at once to raise your feet and lower your head. Besides 
the door there is another opening at the top of the tent to 
let out the smoke. This opening can at any time be closed with 
a piece of felt fastened above it in the tent, which can be 
pulled over it by means of a string, the end of which hangs 
by the door. 

The interior is divided into two compartments; that on 
the left as you enter is reserved for the men, and thither the 
visitors proceed. Any man who should enter on the right 
side would be considered excessively rude. The right com- 
partment is occupied by the women, and there you find the 
culinary utensils: large earthen vessels of glazed earth, 
wherein to keep the store of water; trunks of trees of differ- 
ent sizes hollowed into the shape of pails and destined to 
contain the preparations of milk in the various forms which 
they make it undergo. In the centre of the tent is a large 
tripod, planted in the earth, and always ready to receive the 
large iron bell-shaped cauldron that stands by, ready for use. 

Behind the hearth and facing the door is a kind of 
sofa, the most singular piece of furniture that we met with 
among the Tartars. At the two ends are two pillows, having 
at their extremity plates of copper, gilt and skilfully en- 
graved. There is probably not a single tent where you do 
not find this little couch, which seems to be an essential 


48 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


article of furniture; but, strange to say, during our long 
journey we never saw one of them which seemed to have been 
recently made. We had occasion to visit Mongol families 
where everything bore the mark of easy circumstances, even 
of affluence, but everywhere alike this singular couch was 
shabby and of ancient fabric. Yet it seems made to last for 
ever, and is regularly transmitted from generation to gener- 


INTERIOR OF A TARTAR TENT. 


ation. In the towns where Tartar commerce is carried on, 
you may hunt through every furniture-shop, every broker’s, 
every pawnbroker’s, but you meet with not one of these 
pieces of furniture, new or old. 

At the side of the couch, towards the men’s quarter, 
there is ordinarily a small square press, which contains the 
various odds and ends that serve to set off the costume of this 
simple people. This chest serves likewise as an altar for a 
small image of Buddha. The divinity, in wood or copper, 
is usually in a sitting posture , the legs crossed, and enveloped 


A TARTAR TENT 49 


up to the neck in a scarf of old yellow silk. Nine copper vases, 
of the size and form of our liqueur-glasses, are symmetri- 
cally arranged before Buddha. It is in these small chalices 
that the Tartars daily make to their idol offerings of water, 
milk, butter, and meal. A few Thibetian books, wrapped in 
yellow silk, perfect the decoration of the little pagoda. Those 
whose heads are shaved and who observe celibacy have alone 
the privilege of touching these prayer-books. A layman who 
should venture to take them into his impure and profane 
hands would commit a sacrilege. A number of goats’ horns, 
fixed in the woodwork of the tent, complete the furniture 
of the Mongol habitation. On these hang the joints of 
beef or mutton destined for the family’s use, vessels filled 
with butter, bows, arrows, and matchlocks; for there is 
scarcely a Tartar family which does not possess at least one 
fire-arm. 

The odour pervading the interior of the Mongol tents 
is, to those not accustomed to it, disgusting and almost in- 
supportable. This smell, so potent sometimes that it seems 
to make one’s heart rise to one’s throat, is occasioned by the 
mutton grease and butter with which everything on or about 
a Tartar is impregnated. It is on account of this habitual filth 
that they are called T'sao-Ta-Dze (Stinking Tartars) by the 
Chinese, themselves not altogether inodorous or by any 
means particular about cleanliness. 

Among the Tartars, household and family cares rest 
entirely upon the woman; it is she who milks the cows and 
prepares the butter, cheese, &c.; who goes, no matter how 
far, to draw water; who collects the argol fuel, dries it, and 
piles it around the tent. The making of clothes, the tanning of 
skins, the fulling of cloth, all appertain to her, the sole as- 
sistance she obtains in these various labours being that of her 
sons, and then only while they are quite young. 

The occupations of the men are of very limited range; 


50 : TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


they consist wholly in conducting the flocks and herds to pas- 
ture. This, for men accustomed from their infancy to horse- 
back, is rather an amusement than a labour. In point of fact, 
the nearest approach to fatigue they ever incur is when some 
of their cattle escape; they then dash off at full gallop in 
pursuit, up hill and down dale, until they have found the 
missing animals and brought them back to the herd. The 
Tartars sometimes hunt, but it is rather with a view to what 
they can catch than from any amusement they derive from 
the exercise; the only occasions on which they go out with 
their bows and matchlocks are when they desire to shoot roe- 
bucks, deer, or pheasants, as presents for their chiefs. Foxes 
they always course. To shoot them or take them in traps 
would, they consider, injure the skin, which is held in high 
estimation among them. They ridicule the Chinese im- 
mensely on account of their trapping these animals at night. 
“We,” said a famous hunter of the Red Banner to us, “ set 
about the thing in an honest straightforward way. When 
we see a fox, we jump on horseback and gallop after him 
till we have run him down.” 

With the exception of their equestrian exercises, the 
Mongol Tartars pass their time in an absolute far niente, 
sleeping all night, and squatting all day in their tents, doz- 
ing, drinking tea, or smoking. At intervals, however, the Tar- 
tar conceives a fancy to take a lounge abroad; and his lounge 
is somewhat different from that of the Parisian idler; he 
needs neither cane nor quizzing glass, but when the fancy 
occurs, he takes down his whip from its place above the 
door, mounts his horse, always ready saddled outside the 
door, and dashes off into the desert, no matter whither. When 
he sees another horseman in the distance, he rides up to 
him; when he sees the smoke of a tent, he rides up to that; 
the only object in either case being to have a chat with some 
new person. 


A SEARCH FOR WATER SI 


A Search for Water. Sudden Typhoon. 


The two days we passed in these fine plains of the Tcha- 
kar, were not without good use. We were able at leisure to 
dry and repair our clothes and our. baggage; but, above all, 
it gave us an opportunity to study the Tartars close at hand 
and to initiate ourselves in the habits of the nomad peoples. 
As we were making preparations for departure, these tem- 
porary neighbours aided us to fold our tent and to load our 
camels. “ Sirs Lamas,” said they, “ you had better encamp 
tonight at the Three Lakes; the pasturage there is good and 
abundant. If you make haste, you will reach the place before 
sunset. On this side and on the other side of the Three Lakes 
there is no water for a considerable distance. Sirs Lamas, a 
good journey to you! ” “ Peace be with you, and farewell! ” 
responded we, and with that proceeded once more on our 
way, Samdadchiemba heading the caravan, mounted on his 
little black mule. We quitted this encampment without re- 
egret, just as we had quitted preceding encampments; except, 
indeed, that here we left on the spot where our tent had 
stood, a greater heap of ashes, and that the grass around it 
was more trodden than was usual with us. 

During the morning the weather was magnificent, though 
somewhat cold. But in the afternoon the north wind rose 
and began to blow with extreme violence. It soon became so 
cutting that we regretted we had not with us our great fur 
caps, to operate as a protector for the face. We hurried on, 
in order the sooner to reach the Three Lakes and to have 
the shelter there of our dear tent. In the hope of discovering 
these lakes that had been promised us by our late friends we 
were constantly looking right and left, but in vain. It grew 
late, and, according to the information of the Tartars, we be- 
gan to fear we must have passed the only encampment we 
were likely to find that day. By dint of straining our eyes we 


52 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


at length got sight of a horseman, slowly riding along the 
bottom of a lateral valley. He was at some distance from us, 
but it was essential that we should obtain information from 
him. M. Gabet accordingly hastened after him, at the utmost 
speed of his tall camel’s long legs. The horseman heard the 
cries of the camel, looked back, and, seeing that someone 
was approaching him, turned his horse round and galloped 
towards M. Gabet. As soon as he got within ear-shot, ‘ Holy 
personage,” cried he, “ has your eye perceived the yellow 
goats? I have lost all traces of them.” “ I have not seen the 
yellow goats; I seek water and cannot find it. Is it far 
hence? ” ** Whence came you? Whither go you? ” “I belong 
to the little caravan you see yonder. We have been told that 
we should this evening on our way find lakes, upon the banks 
of which we could commodiously encamp; but hitherto we 
have seen nothing of the kind.” “ How could that be? ?Tis 
but a few minutes ago you passed within a few yards of the 
water. Sir Lama, permit me to attend your shadow; I will 
guide you to the Three Lakes.” And so saying, he gave his — 
horse three swinging lashes with his whip, in order to put 
it into a pace commensurate with that of the camel. In a 
minute he had joined us. “ Men of prayer,” said the hunter, 
“vou have come somewhat too far; you must turn back. 
Look” (pointing with his bow) “ yonder; you see those 
storks hovering over some reeds: there you will find the 
Three Lakes.” “Thanks, brother,” said we; “ we regret 
that we cannot show you your yellow goats as clearly as you 
have shown us the Three Lakes.” The Mongol hunter sa- 
luted us, with his clasped hands raised to his forehead, and 
we proceeded with entire confidence towards the spot he had 
pointed out. We had advanced but a few paces before we 
found indications of the near presence of some peculiar 
waters. The grass was less continuous and less green, and 
cracked under our animals’ hoofs like dried leaves; the 


SUDDEN TYPHOON 53 


white efflorescence of saltpetre manifested itself more and 
more thickly. At last we found ourselves on the bank of one 
lake, near which were two others. We immediately alighted 
and set about erecting our tent, but the wind was so violent 
that it was only after long labour and much patience that we 
completed the task. 

While Samdadchiemba was boiling our tea, we amused 
ourselves with watching the camels as they luxuriously licked 
up the saltpetre with which the ground was powdered. Next 
they bent over the edge of the lake and inhaled long, insati- 
able draughts of the brackish water, which we could see as- 
cending their long necks as up some flexible pump. 

We had been for some time occupied in this not unpic- 
turesque recreation when, all of a sudden, we heard behind us 
a confused, tumultuous noise, resembling the vehement flap- 
ping of sails beaten about by contrary and violent winds. Soon 
we distinguished amid the uproar loud cries proceeding from 
Samdadchiemba. We hastened towards him and were just in 
time to prevent, by our co-operation, the typhoon from up- 
rooting and carrying off our linen /ouvre. Since our arrival 
the wind, augmenting in violence, had also changed its direc- 
tion; so that it now blew exactly from the quarter facing 
which we had placed the opening of our tent. We had espe- 
cial occasion to fear that the tent would be set on fire by the 
lighted argols that were driven about by the wind. Our first 
business therefore was to tack about, and after a while we 
succeeded in making our tent secure, and so got off with our 
fear and a little fatigue. The misadventure, however, put 
Samdadchiemba into a desperately bad humour throughout 
the evening; for the wind, by extinguishing the fire, delayed 
the preparation of his tea. 

The wind fell as the night advanced, and by degrees the 
weather became magnificent; the sky was clear, the moon 
full and bright, and the stars glittered like diamonds. Alone, 


54. TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


in this vast solitude, we distinguished in the distance only 
the fantastic and indistinct outline of the mountains which 
loomed in the horizon like gigantic phantoms, while the only 
sound we heard was the cries of the thousand aquatic birds, 
as, on the surface of the lakes, they contended for the ends 
of the reeds and the broad leaves of the water-lily. Samdad- 
chiemba was by no means a person to appreciate the charms of 
this tranquil scene. He had succeeded in again lighting the 
fire and was absorbed in the preparation of his tea. We ac- 
cordingly left him squatted before the kettle. 


Samdadchiemba’s Story. Tribulations of an Apprentice Lama, 


Samdadchiemba wiped his cup with the skirt of his jacket 
and, having replaced it in his bosom, addressed us gravely, 
thus: “ My spiritual fathers, since you desire I should speak 
to you about myself, I will tell you a story. At the age of ten 
they put me into a great lamasery. I had for my especial mas- 
ter a very rough, cross man, who gave me the strap every day, 
because I could not repeat the prayers he taught me. But it 
was to no purpose he beat me; I could learn nothing; so he 
left off teaching me and sent me out to fetch water and collect 
fuel. But he continued to thrash me as hard as ever, until the 
life I led became quite insupportable, and at last I ran off 
With some provisions and made my way towards Tartary. 
After walking several days, haphazard, and perfectly ig- 
norant where I was, I encountered the train of a Grand Lama 
who was repairing to Peking. I joined the caravan and was 
employed to take charge of a flock of sheep that accompanied 
the party and served for its food. There was no room for me 
in any of the tents, so I had to sleep in the open air. One eve- 
ning I took up my quarters behind a rock, which sheltered me 
from the wind. In the morning, waking somewhat later than 
usual, I found the encampment struck and the people all 
gone. I was left alone in the desert. At this time I knew noth- 


SAMDADCHIEMBA’S STORY 55 


ing about east, west, north, or south; I had consequently no 
resource but to wander on at random, until I should find some 
Tartar station. I lived in this way for three years — now 
here, now there, exchanging such slight services as I could 
render for my food and tent-room. At last I reached Peking, 
and presented myself at the gate of the great lamasery of 
Hoang-Sse, which is entirely composed of Dchiahour and 
Thibetian lamas. I was at once admitted, and, my country- 
men having clubbed together to buy mea red scarf and a yel- 
low cap, I was enabled to join the chorus in the recitation of 
prayers and, of consequence, to claim my share in the distri- 
bution of alms.” — We interrupted Samdadchiemba at this 
point, in order to learn from him how he could take part in 
the recitation of prayers without having learned either to read 
or to pray. — “Oh,” said he, “ the thing was easy enough. 
They gave me an old book; I held it on my knees and, mum- 
bling out some gibberish between my lips, endeavoured to 
catch the tone of my neighbours. When they turned over a 
leaf, I turned over a leaf; so that, altogether, there was no 
reason why the leader of the chorus should take any notice 
of my manceuvre. 

“One day, however, a circumstance occurred that very 
nearly occasioned my expulsion from the lamasery. An ill- 
natured lama, who had remarked my method of reciting the 
prayers, used to amuse himself with mocking me and creating 
a laugh at my expense. When the Emperor’s mother died, 
we were all invited to the Yellow Palace to recite prayers. 
Before the ceremony commenced, I was sitting quietly in my 
place, with my book on my knees, when this roguish fellow 
came gently behind me and, looking over my shoulder, mum- 
bled out something or other in imitation of my manner. Los- 
ing all self-possession, I gave him so hard a blow upon the 
face that he fell on his back. The incident excited great con- 
fusion in the Yellow Palace. The superiors were informed 


56 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


of the matter, and, by the severe rules of Thibetian disci- 
pline, I was liable to be flogged for three days with the black 
whip and then, my hands and feet in irons, to be imprisoned 
for a year in the tower of the lamasery. One of the principals, 
however, who had taken notice of me before, interposed in 
my favour. He went to the lamas who constituted the council 
of discipline and represented to them the fact that the disciple 
who had been struck was a person notorious for annoying his 
companions and that I had received extreme provocation 
from him. He spoke so warmly in my favour that I was par- 
doned on the mere condition of making an apology. I ac- 
cordingly placed myself in the way of the lama whom I had 
offended. ‘ Brother,’ said I, ‘ shall we go and drink a cup of 
tea together? ? ‘ Certainly,’ replied he; ‘there is no reason 
why I should not drink a cup of tea with you.’? We went out 
and entered the first tea~-house that presented itself. After 
we were seated at one of the tables in the tea-room, I offered 
my snuff-bottle to my companion, saying: ‘ Elder brother, 
the other day we had a little disagreement; that was not well. 
You must confess that you were not altogether free from 
blame. I, on my part, admit that I dealt too heavy a blow. 
But the matter has grown old; we will think no more about 
it.” We then drank our tea, interchanged various civilities, 
and so the thing ended.” 

These and similar anecdotes of our Dchiahour had car- 
ried us far into the night. The camels, indeed, were already 
up and browsing their breakfast on the banks of the lake. We 
had but brief time before us for repose. “‘ For my part,” said 
Samdadchiemba, “I will not lie down at all, but look after 
the camels. Day will soon break. Meantime Ill make a good 
fire and prepare the pan-tan.” 

It was not long before Samdadchiemba roused us with 
the intimation that the sun was up, and the pan-tan ready. 
We at once rose, and, after eating a cup of pan-tan, or, in 


A CITY OF GREY SQUIRRELS uy 


other words, of oatmeal diluted with boiling water, we 
planted our little cross upon a hillock and proceeded upon 
our pilgrimage. 


Destruction of a City of Grey Squirrels. 


It was past noon when we came to a place where three 
wells had been dug, at short distances the one from the other. 
Although it was early in the day, we still thought we had bet- 
ter encamp here. A vast plain, on which we could discern no 
sort of habitation, stretched out before us to the distant hori- 
zon; and we might fairly conclude it destitute of water, since 
the Tartars had taken the trouble to dig these wells. We 
therefore set up our tent. We soon found, however, that we 
had selected a detestable encampment. With excessive nasti- 
ness of very brackish and very fetid water was combined ex- 
treme scarcity of fuel. We looked about for argols, but in 
vain. At last Samdadchiemba, whose eyes were better than 
ours, discerned in the distance a sort of enclosure, in which he 
concluded that cattle had been folded. He took a camel with 
him to the place in the hope of finding plenty of argols there, 
and he certainly returned with an ample supply of the article; 
but unfortunately the precious manure-fuel was not quite 
dry; it absolutely refused to burn. The Dchiahour essayed 
an experiment. He hollowed out a sort of furnace in the 
ground, surmounting it with a turf chimney. The structure 
was extremely picturesque, but it laboured under the enor- 
mous disadvantage of being wholly useless. Samdadchiemba 
arranged and rearranged his fuel, and puffed, and puffed, 
with the full force of his potent lungs. It was all lost labour. 
There was smoke enough and to spare; we were enveloped in 
smoke, but not a spark of fire; and the water in the kettle re- 
mained relentlessly passive. It was obvious that to boil our 
tea or heat oatmeal was out of the question. Yet we were 
anxious, at all events, to take the chill off the water, so as to 


58 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


disguise, by the warmth, its brackish flavour and its disagree- 
able smell. We adopted this expedient. 

You meet in the plains of Mongolia with a sort of grey 
squirrel living in holes like rats. These animals construct over 
the opening of their little dens a sort of miniature dome, com- 
posed of grass artistically twisted, and designed as a shelter 
from wind and rain. These little heaps of dry grass are of 
the form and size of mole-hills. The place where we had now 
set up our tent abounded with these grey squirrels. Thirst 
made us cruel and we proceeded to level the house-domes of 
these poor little animals, which retreated into their holes be- 
low as we approached them. By means of this vandalism we 
managed to collect a sackful of efficient fuel, and so warmed 
the water of the well, which was our only aliment during the 
day. 

Our provisions had materially diminished, notwith- 
standing the economy to which the want of fire on this and 
other occasions had reduced us. There remained very little 
meal or millet in our store bags, when we learned, from a 
Tartar whom we met on the way, that we were at no great 
distance from a trading station called Chaborté (Slough). 
It lay, indeed, somewhat out of the route we were pursuing, 
but there was no other place at which we could supply our- 
selves with provisions until we came to Blue-Town, from 
which we were distant a hundred leagues. We turned there- 
fore obliquely to the left and soon reached Chaborté. 


ES BNSES INES INL INIT INTIS 
NES PN GS PONS PNGS PNES PNES 


ds EW eaedl Bi OG SiR Ea TE 


WE arrived at Chaborté on the fifteenth day of the eighth 
moon, the anniversary of great rejoicings among the Chinese. 
This festival, known as the Yué-Ping (Loaves of the Moon), 
dates from the remotest antiquity. Its original purpose was 
to honour the moon with superstitious rites. On this solemn 
day all labour is suspended; the workmen receive from their 
employers a present of money; every person puts on his best 
clothes, and there is merry-making in every family. Rela- 
tions and friends interchange cakes of various sizes, on which 
is stamped the image of the moon; that is to say, a hare 
crouching amid a small group of trees. 

Since the fourteenth century this festival has borne a 
political character, little understood, apparently, by the 
Mongols, but the tradition of which is carefully preserved 
by the Chinese. About the year 1368 the Chinese were de- 
sirous of shaking off the yoke of Tartar dynasty, founded 
by Jenghiz Khan, which had then swayed the empire for 
nearly a hundred years. A vast conspiracy was formed 
throughout all the provinces, which was simultaneously to 
develop itself, on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon, by 
the massacre of the Mongol soldiers, who were billeted upon 
each Chinese family for the double purpose of maintaining 
themselves and their conquest. The signal was given by a 
letter concealed in the cakes which, as we have stated, are on 
that day mutually interchanged throughout the country. The 
massacre was effected, and the Tartar army, dispersed in the 
houses of the Chinese, utterly annihilated. This catastrophe 
put an end to the Mongol domination; and ever since, the 


60 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Chinese, in celebrating the festival of Yué-Ping, have been 
less intent upon the superstitious worship of the moon than 
upon the tragic event to which they owed the recovery of 
their national independence. 

The Mongols seem to have entirely lost all memory of 
the sanguinary revolution; for every year they take their full 
part in the festival of the Loaves of the Moon, and thus cele- 
brate, without apparently knowing it, the triumph which 
their enemies heretofore gained over their ancestors. 


Feast in a Tartar Tent. Great Embarrassment over a Sheep’s Tail. 


At a gunshot from the place where we were encamped 
we perceived several Mongol tents, the size and character 
of which indicated easiness of circumstances in the proprie- 
tors. This indication was confirmed by the large herds of 
cattle, sheep, and horses which were pasturing around. While 
we were reciting the breviary in our tent, Samdadchiemba 
went to pay a visit to these Mongols. Soon afterwards we saw 
approaching an old man with a long, white beard, whose fea- 


tures bespoke him a personage of distinction. He was accom- 


panied by a young lama and by a little boy, who held his 
hand. “ Sirs Lamas,” said the old man, “ all men are broth- 
ers; but they who dwell in tents are united one with another 
as flesh with bone. Sirs Lamas, will you come and seat your- 
selves for a while in my poor abode? The fifteenth of this 
moon is a solemn epoch; you are strangers and travellers and 
therefore cannot this evening occupy your places at the 
hearth of your own noble family. Come and repose for a few 
days with us; your presence will bring us peace and happi- 
ness.” We told the good old man that we could not wholly 
accept his offer, but that in the evening, after prayers, we 
would come and take tea with him and converse for a while 
about the Mongol nation. The venerable Tartar hereupon 
took his leave; but he had not been gone long before the 


* ? 
—. 
Se 


FEAST IN A TARTAR TENT 61 


young lama who had accompanied him returned and told us 
that his people were awaiting our presence. We felt that we 
could not refuse at once to comply with an invitation so full 
of frank cordiality, and accordingly, having directed our 
Dchiahour to take good care of the tent, we followed the 
young lama who had come in quest of us. 

Upon entering the Mongol tent we were struck and as- 
tonished at finding a cleanliness one is little accustomed to 
see in Tartary. There was not the ordinary coarse fireplace in 
the centre, and the eye was not offended with the rude dirty 
kitchen utensils which generally encumber Tartar habita- 
tions. It was obvious, besides, that everything had been pre- 
pared for a festival. We seated ourselves upon a large red 
carpet, and there was almost immediately brought to us, 
from the adjacent tent, which served as a kitchen, some tea 
with milk, some small loaves fried in butter; cheese, raisins, 
and jujubes. 

After we had been introduced to the numerous Mongols 
by whom we found ourselves surrounded, the conversation 
insensibly turned upon the festival of the Loaves of the 
Moon. “In our western land,” said we, “ this festival is un- 
known; men there adore only Jehovah, the Creator of the 
heavens and of the earth, of the sun, of the moon, and of all 
that exists.” — “‘ Oh, what a holy doctrine! ” exclaimed the 
old man, raising his clasped hands to his forehead; “ the Tar- 
tars themselves, for that matter, do not worship the moon; 
but seeing that the Chinese celebrate this festival, they fol- 
low the custom without very well knowing why.” — “ You 
say truly; you do not, indeed, know why you celebrate this 
festival. That is what we heard in the land of the Kitat 
(Chinese). But do you know why the Kitat celebrate it? ” 
and thereupon we related to these Mongols what we knew 
of the terrible massacre of their ancestors. Upon the comple- 
tion of our narrative we saw the faces of all our audience full 


62 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


of astonishment. The young men whispered to one another; 
the old man preserved a mournful silence, his head bent 
down, and big tears flowing from his eyes. “ Brother rich in 
years,” said we, “ this story does not seem to surprise you as 
it does your young men, but it fills your heart with emotion.” 
— “Holy personages,” replied the elder, raising his head 
and wiping away the tears with the back of his hand, “ the 
terrible event which occasions such consternation in the minds 
of my young men was not unknown to me, but I would I had 
never heard of it, and I always struggle against its recollec- 
tion, for it brings the hot blood into the forehead of every 
Tartar whose heart is not sold to the Kitat. A day known to 
our great lamas will come when the blood of our fathers so 
shamefully assassinated will at length be avenged. When the 
holy man who is to lead us to vengeance shall appear, every 
one of us will rise and follow in his train; then we shall 
march, in the face of day, and require from the Kitat an ac- 
count of the Tartar blood which they shed in the silence and 
dark secrecy of their houses. The Mongols celebrate every 
year this festival, most of them seeing in it merely an indif- 
ferent ceremony; but the Loaves of the Moon-day ever re- 
calls, in the hearts of a few amongst us, the memory of the 
treachery to ae our fathers fell a and the hope of 
just vengeance.” 

After a brief silence the old man went on: “ Holy per- 
sonages, whatever may be the associations of this day, in 
other respects it is truly a festival for us, since you have 
deigned to enter our poor habitation. Let us not further 
occupy our breasts with sad thoughts. Child,” said he to a 
young man seated on the threshold of the tent, “if the mut- 
ton is boiled enough, clear away these things.” This command 
having been executed, the eldest son of the family entered 
bearing in both hands a small oblong table, on which was a 
boiled sheep cut into four quarters, heaped one on the other. 


A SHEEP’s TAIL 63 


The family being assembled round the table, the chief 
drew a knife from his girdle, severed the sheep’s tail, and 
divided it into two equal pieces, which he placed before 
us. 

With the Tartars the tail is considered the most de- 
licious portion of their sheep, and accordingly the most hon- 
ourable. These tails of the Tartarian sheep are of immense 
size and weight, the fat upon them alone weighing from six 
to eight pounds. 

The fat and juicy tail having been offered a homage to 
the two stranger guests, the rest of the company, knife in 
hand, attacked the four quarters of the animal, and had 
speedily, each man, a huge piece before him. Plate or fork 
there was none; the knees supplied the absence of the one, 
the hands of the other, the flowing grease being wiped off, 
from time to time, upon the front of the jacket. Our own em- 
barrassment was extreme. That great white mass of fat had 
been given to us with the best intentions, but, not quite 
clear of European prejudices, we could not make up our 
stomachs to venture, without bread or salt, upon the lumps 
of tallow that quivered in our hands. We briefly consulted, 
in our native tongue, as to what on earth was to be done 
under these distressing circumstances. Furtively to replace 
the horrible masses upon the table would be imprudent; 
openly to express to our Amphitryon our repugnance to this 
par excellence Tartarian delicacy was impossible, as wholly 
opposed to Tartar etiquette. We devised this plan: we cut 
the villainous tail into numerous pieces and insisted, in that 
day of general rejoicing, upon the company’s partaking 
with us of this precious dish. There was infinite reluctance to 
deprive us of the treat; but we persisted and by degrees got 
entirely clear of the abominable mess, ourselves rejoicing, 
instead, in a cut from the leg, the savour of which was more 
agreeable to our early training. 


64 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Invocation to Timour. 


The Homeric repast completed, a heap of polished 
bones alone remaining to recall it, a boy, taking from the 
goat’s horn on which it hung a rude three-stringed violin, 
presented it to the chief, who, in his turn, handed it to a 
young man of modest mien, whose eyes lighted up as he re- 
ceived the instrument. “Noble and holy travellers,” said 
the chief, “I have invited a Toolholos to embellish this 
entertainment with some recitations.” The minstrel was al- 
ready preluding with his fingers upon the strings of his 
instrument. Presently he began to sing, in a strong, em- 
phatic voice, at times interweaving with his verses recita- 
tions full of fire and animation. It was interesting to see 
all those Tartar faces bent towards the minstrel and accom- 
panying the meaning of his words with the movements 
of their features. The Toolholos selected for his subjects 
national traditions, which warmly excited the feelings of 
his audience. As to ourselves, very slightly acquainted with 
the history of Tartary, we took small interest in all those il- 
lustrious unknown whom the Mongol rhapsodist marshalled 
over the scene. 

When he had sung for some time, the old man pre- 
sented to him a large cup of milk-wine. The minstrel placed 
his instrument upon his knees and with evident relish pro- 
ceeded to moisten his throat, parched with the infinitude of 
marvels he had been relating. While, having finished his 
draught, he was licking the brim of his cup, “ Toolholos,” 
said we, “the songs you have sung were all excellent. But 
you have as yet said nothing about the Immortal Tamerlane: 
the ‘Invocation to Timour,’ we have heard, is a famous 
song, dear to the Mongols.” “ Yes, yes,”? exclaimed several 
voices at once, “‘ sing us the ‘Invocation to Timour.’ ” There 
was a moment?s silence, and then the Toolholos, having re- 


INVOCATION TO TIMOUR 65 


freshed his memory, sang, in a vigorous and warlike tone, 
the following strophes: 


When the divine Timour dwelt within our tents, the Mon- 
gol nation was redoubtable and warlike; its least movements made 
the earth bend; its mere look froze with fear the ten thousand 
peoples upon whom the sun shines. 


O divine Timour, will thy great soul soon revive? 
Return! return! we await thee, O Timour! 


We live in our vast plains, tranquil and peaceful as sheep; 
yet our hearts are fervent and full of life. The memory of the 
glorious age of Timour is ever present to our minds. Where is 
the chief who is to place himself at our head, and render us once 
more great warriors? 


O divine Timour, will thy great soul soon revive? 
Return! return! we await thee, O Timour! 


The young Mongol has arms wherewith to quell the wild 
horse, eyes wherewith he sees afar off in the desert the traces of the 
lost camel. Alas! his arms can no longer bend the bow of his an- 
cestors; his eye cannot see the wiles of the enemy. 


O divine Timour, will thy great soul soon revive? 
Return! return! we await thee, O Timour! 


We have burned the sweet-smelling wood at the feet of the 
divine Timour, our foreheads bent to the earth; we have offered 
to him the green leaf of tea and the milk of our herds. We are 
ready; the Mongols are on foot, O Timour! And do thou, O 
lama, send down good fortune upon our arrows and our lances. 


O divine Timour, will thy great soul soon revive? 
Return! return! we await thee, O Timour! 


When the Tartar troubadour had completed this 
national song, he rose, made a low bow to the company, and, 
having suspended his instrument upon a wooden pin, took 


66 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


his leave. “ Our neighbours,” said the old man, “are also 
keeping the festival, and expect the Toolholos: but, since 
you seem to listen with interest to Tartar songs, we will 
offer some other melodies to your notice. We have in our own 
family a brother who has in his memory a great number of 
airs cherished by the Mongols; but he cannot play; he is not 
a Toolholos. Come, brother Nymbo, sing; you have not got 
lamas of the West to listen to you every day.” 


The Mongol Singer. 


A Mongol whom, seated as he was in a corner, we had 
not before noticed, at once rose and took the place of the 
departed Toolholos. The appearance of this personage was 
truly remarkable; his neck was completely buried in his 
enormous shoulders; his great dull staring eyes contrasted 
strangely with his dark face, half calcined, as it were, by 
the sun; his hair, or rather a coarse, uncombed mane, strag- 
gling down his back, completed the savageness of his aspect. 
He began to sing; but his singing was a mere counterfeit, 
an absurd parody. His grand quality was extreme long- 
windedness, which enabled him to execute roulades, compli- 
cated and continuous enough to throw any rational audience 
into fits. We soon became desperately tired of his noise, and 
watched with impatience for a moment’s cessation that might 
give us an opportunity of retiring. But this was no easy 
matter; the villain divined our thoughts and was resolved 
to spite us. No sooner had he finished one air than he dove- 
tailed another into it, and so started afresh. In this way he 
went on until it was really quite late in the night. At length 
he paused for a moment to drink a cup of tea; he threw the 
beverage down his throat, and was just clearing his throat 
to commence anew when we started up, offered to the head 
of the family a pinch of snuff, and, gee saluted the rest 
of the company, withdrew. 3 


TRAINING OF YOUNG TARTARS 67 


You often meet in Tartary these Toolholos, or wander- 
ing singers, who go about from tent to tent, celebrating in 
their melodies national events and personages. They are 
generally very poor; a violin and a flute, suspended from the 
girdle, are their only property; but they are always received 
by the Mongol families with kindness and honour; they 
often remain in one tent for several days, and on their de- 
parture are supplied with cheese, wine, tea, and so on to sup- 
port them on their way. These poet-singers, who remind 
us of the minstrels and rhapsodists of Greece, are also very 
numerous in China; but they are, probably, nowhere so 
numerous or so popular as in Thibet. 


Training of Young Tartars. The Mongol and His Horse. 


The day after the festival, the sun had scarcely risen 
when a little boy presented himself at the entrance of our 
tent, carrying in one hand a wooden vessel full of milk and in 
the other hand a rude rush basket, in which were some new 
cheese and some butter. He was followed soon after by an 
old lama, attended by a Tartar who had on his shoulder a 
large bag of fuel. We invited them all to be seated. “ Broth- 
ers of the West,” said the lama, “ accept these trifling pres- 
ents from my master.” We bowed in token of thanks, and 
Samdadchiemba hastened to prepare some tea, which we 
pressed the lama to stay and partake of. “I will come and 
see you this evening,” said he; “but I cannot remain at 
present; for I have not set my pupil the prayer he has to 
learn this morning.” The pupil in question was the little 
boy who had brought the milk. The old man then took his 
pupil by the hand, and they returned together to their 
tent. 

The old lama was the preceptor of the family, and 
his function consisted in directing the little boy in the study 
of the Thibetian pravers. The education of the Tartars is 


68 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


very limited. They who shave the head, the lamas, are, as a 
general rule, the only persons who learn to read and pray. 
There is no such thing throughout the country as a public 
school. With the exception of a few rich Mongols, who have 
their children taught at home, all the young lamas are 
obliged to resort to the lamaseries, wherein is concentrated 
all that exists in Tartary of arts or sciences or intellectual 
industry. The lama is not merely a priest; he is the painter, 
poet, sculptor, architect, physician; the head, heart, and ora- 
cle of the laity. The training of the young Mongols who do 
‘not resort to the lamaseries is limited, with the men, to per- 
fecting the use of the bow and arrow and matchlock, and to 
their obtaining a thorough mastery of equestrianism. When 
a mere infant, the Mongol is weaned, and as soon as he is 
strong enough, he is stuck upon a horse’s back behind a man, 
the animal is put to a gallop, and the juvenile rider, in order 
not to fall off, has to cling with both hands to his teacher’s 
jacket. The Tartars thus become accustomed from a very 
early age to the movements of the horse, and by degrees 
and the force of habit they identify themselves, as it were, 
with the animal. 

There is perhaps no spectacle more exciting than that 
of Mongol riders in chase of a wild horse. They are armed 
with a long, heavy pole, at the end of which is a running 
knot. They gallop, they fly after the horse they are pursu- 
ing down rugged ravines and up precipitous hills, in and out, 
twisting and twining in their rapid coursé, until they come 
up with their game. They then take the bridle of their own 
horses in their teeth, seize with both hands their heavy pole, 
and, bending forward, throw, by a powerful effort, the run- 
ning knot round the wild horse’s neck. In this exercise the 
greatest vigour must be combined with the greatest dexterity 
in order to enable them to stop short the powerful un- 
tamed animals with which they have to deal. It sometimes 


THE MONGOL AND HIS HORSE 69 


happens that pole and cord are broken, but as to a horseman’s 
being thrown, it is an occurrence we never saw or heard 
of. 

The Mongol is so accustomed to horseback that he is 
altogether like a fish out of water when he sets foot on the 
ground. His step is heavy and awkward; and his bowed legs, 
his chest bent forward, his constant looking around him, all 
indicate a person who spends the greater portion of his time 
on the back of a horse or a camel. 

When night overtakes the travelling Tartar, it often 
happens that he will not even take the trouble to alight for 
the purpose of repose. Ask people whom you meet in the 
desert where they slept last night, and you will as fre- 
quently as not have for answer, in a melancholy tone, 
“ Temen dero” (on the camel). It is a singular spectacle 
to see caravans halting at noon, when they come to a rich 
pasturage. The camels disperse in all directions, browsing 
upon the high grass of the prairie, while the Tartars, astride 
between the two humps of the animal, sleep as profoundly 
as though they were sheltered in a good bed. 

This incessant activity, this constant travelling, contrib- 
utes to render the Tartars very vigorous and capable of sup- 
porting the most terrible cold, without appearing to be in 
the least affected by it. In the deserts of Tartary, and es- 
pecially in the country of the Khalkhas, the cold is so intense 
that for a considerable portion of the winter the thermome- 
ter will not act, on account of the congelation of the mer- 
cury. The whole district is often covered with snow; and if 
at these times the south-west wind blows, the plain wears 
the aspect of a raging sea. The wind raises the snow in im- 
mense waves and impels the gigantic avalanches vehemently 
before it. Then the Tartars hurry courageously to the aid 
of their herds and flocks, and you see them dashing in all di- 
rections, exciting the animals by their cries, and driving them 


70 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


to the shelter of some rock or mountain. Sometimes these 
intrepid shepherds stop short amid the tempest and stand 
erect for a time, as if defying the cold and the fury of the 
elements. 


Education of Women. 


The training of the Tartar women is not more refined 
than that of the men. They are not, indeed, taught the use of 
the bow and the matchlock, but in equitation they are as ex- 
pert and as fearless as the men. Yet it is only on occasions 
that they mount on horseback; such, for example, as travel- 
ling, or when there is no man at home to go in search of a 
stray animal. As a general rule, they have nothing to do 
with the care of the herds and flocks. 

_ Their chief occupation is to prepare the family meals 
and to make the family clothes. They are perfect mistresses 
of the needle; it is they who fabricate the hats, boots, coats, 
and other portions of the Mongol attire. The leather boots, 
for example, which they make are not indeed very elegant in 
form, but, on the other hand, their solidity is astonishing. 

It was quite unintelligible to us how, with implements 
so rude and‘coarse as theirs, they could manufacture articles 
almost indestructible in their quality. It is true they take 
their time about them and get on very slowly with their work. 
The Tartar women excel in embroidery, which for taste 
and variety of pattern and for excellence of manipulation 
excited our astonishment. We think we may venture to say 
that nowhere in France would you meet with embroidery 
more beautiful and more perfect in fabric than that we have 
seen in Tartary. 

The Tartars do not use the needle in the same way as 
the Chinese. In China they impel the needle perpendicularly 
down and up; whereas the Tartars impel it perpendicularly 
up and down. In France the manner is different from both; if 


CITY OF CHABORTE 71 


we recollect right, the French women impel the needle hori- 
zontally from right to left. We will not attempt to pro- 
nounce as to the respective merit of the three methods; we 
will leave the point to the decision of the respectable fra- 
ternity of tailors. 


The Mournful City of Chaborté. Incident of the Lost Horses. 


On the seventeenth of the moon we proceeded very early 
in the morning to the Chinese station of Chaborté, for the 
purpose of laying in a store of meal. Chaborté, as its Mon- 
gol name intimates, is built upon a slough. The houses are 
all made of mud, and surrounded each by an enclosure of 
high walls. The streets are irregular, tortuous, and narrow; 
the aspect of the whole town is sombre and sinister, and the 
Chinese who inhabit it have, if possible, a more knavish look 
than their countrymen anywhere else. The trade of the town 
comprehends all the articles in ordinary use with the Mongols 
— oatmeal and millet, cotton manufactures, and brick tea, 
which the Tartars receive in exchange for the products of 
the desert — salt, mushrooms, and furs. Upon our return we 
hastened to prepare for our departure. While we were pack- 
ing up our baggage in the tent, Samdadchiemba went in 
search of the animals, which had been put to pasture in the 
vicinity. A moment afterwards he returned with the three 
camels. “ There are the camels,” said we, with gloomy antic- 
ipation, “ but where are the horse and the mule? They were 
both at hand just now, for we tied their legs to prevent their 
straying.” “ They are stolen, in all probability. It never does 
to encamp too near the Chinese, whom everybody knows to 
be arrant horse-stealers.” These words came upon us like a 
clap of thunder. However, it was not a moment for sterile 
lamentation; it was necessary to go in search of the thieves. 
We each mounted a camel and made a circuit in search of 
the animals, leaving our tent under the charge of Arsalan. 


72 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Our search being futile, we resolved to proceed to the Mongol 
encampment and inform them that the animals had been lost 
near their habitation. 

By a law among the Tartars, when animals are lost from 
a caravan, the persons occupying the nearest encampment are 
bound either to find them or to replace them. It seems, no 
doubt, very strange to European views that because, with- 
out their consent or even knowledge, without being in the 
smallest degree known to them, you have chosen to pitch 
your tent near the tents of a Mongol party, you and your ani- 
mals and your baggage are to be under their responsibility; 
but so it is. If a thing disappears, the law supposes that your 
next neighbour is the thief, or at all events an accomplice. 
This it is which has contributed to render the Mongols so skil- 
ful in tracking animals. A mere glance at the slight traces left 
by an animal upon the grass suffices to inform the Mongol 
pursuer how long since it passed and whether or not it bore a 
rider; and the track once found, they follow it throughout 
all its meanderings, however complicated. 

We had no sooner explained our loss to the Mongol 
chief than he said to us cheerfully: “Sirs Lamas, do not 
permit sorrow to invade your hearts. Your animals cannot be 
lost; in these plains there are neither robbers nor associates 
of robbers. I will send in quest of your horses. If we do not 
find them, you may select what others you please in their 
place from our herd. We would have you leave this place 
as happy as you came to it.”” While he was speaking, eight of 
his people mounted on horseback and dashed off in as many 
directions upon the quest, each man trailing after him his 
lasso, attached to the long, flexible pole we have described. 
After a while they all collected in one body and galloped 
away as hard as they could towards the town. “ They are on 
the track now, holy sirs,” said the chief, who was watching 
their movements by our sides, “and you will have your 


RUINED CITIES OF MONGOLIA 73 


horses back very soon. Meanwhile come within my tent and 
drink some tea.” 

In about two hours a boy appeared at the entrance of 
the tent and announced the return of the horsemen. We has- 
tened outside and in the track which we had pursued saw 
something amid a cloud of dust which seemed horsemen gal- 
loping like the wind. We presently discovered the eight Tar- 
tars, dashing along like so many mad centaurs, our stray 
animals, each held by a lasso, in the midst of them. On their 
arrival they alighted and with an air of satisfaction said: 
“We told you nothing was ever lost in our country.”? We 
thanked the generous Mongols for the great service they 
had rendered us, and, bidding adieu to them, saddled our 
horses and departed on our way to the Blue City. 


The Ruined Cities of Mongolia. 


On the third day we came, in the solitude, upon an im- 
posing and majestic monument of antiquity —a large city 
utterly abandoned. Its turreted ramparts, its watch-towers, 
its four great gates, facing the four cardinal points, were all 
there, perfect in preservation, except that, besides being three 
fourths buried in the soil, they were covered with a thick 
coating of turf. Arrived opposite the southern gate, we di- 
rected Samdadchiemba to proceed quietly with the animals 
while we paid a visit to the Old Town, as the Tartars desig- 
nate it. Our impression as we entered the vast enclosure was 
one of mingled awe and sadness. There were no ruins of any 
sort to be seen, but only the outline of a large and fine town, 
becoming absorbed below by gradual accumulations of wind- 
borne soil, and above by a winding-sheet of turf. The ar- 
rangement of the streets and the position of the principal 
edifices were indicated by the inequalities of ground. The 
only living things we found here were a young Mongol 
shepherd, silently smoking his pipe, and the flock of goats 


74 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


he tended. We questioned the former as to when the city 
was built, by whom, when abandoned, and why? We might 
as well have interrogated his goats; he knew no more than 
that the place was called the Old Town. ) 

Such remains of ancient cities are of no unfrequent oc- 
currence in the deserts of Mongolia, but everything con- 
nected with their origin and history is buried in darkness. Oh, 
with what sadness does such a spectacle fill the soul! The 
ruins of Greece, the superb remains of Egypt —all these, 
it is true, tell of death; all belong to the past; yet when you 


gaze upon them, you know what they are; you can retrace, — 


in memory, the revolutions which have occasioned the ruins 
and the decay of the country around them. Descend into 
the tomb wherein was buried alive the city of Herculaneum 
— you find there, it is true, a gigantic skeleton, but you have 
within you historical associations wherewith to galvanize it. 
But of these old abandoned cities of Tartary not a tradition 
remains; they are tombs without an epitaph, amid solitude 
and silence, uninterrupted except when the wandering Tar- 
tars halt for a while within the ruined enclosures, because 
there the pastures are richer and more abundant. 


Although, however, nothing positive can be stated re- — 


specting these remains, the probabilities are that they date 
no earlier back than the thirteenth century, the period when 
the Mongols rendered themselves masters of the Chinese 
Empire, of which they retained possession for more than a 
hundred years. During their domination, say the Chinese 
annals, they erected in northern Tartary many large and pow- 
erful cities. Towards the middle of the fourteenth century 
the Mongol dynasty was expelled from China; the Emperor 
Young-Lo, who desired to exterminate the Tartars, invaded 
their country and burned their towns, making no fewer than 
three expeditions against them into the desert, two hundred 
leagues north of the Great Wall. 


PRAYERS FOR A SICK WOMAN FOS. 


After leaving behind us the Old Town, we came to a 
broad road crossing from north to south that along which 
we were travelling from east to west, the ordinary route of 
the Russian embassies on their way to Peking. 


Prayers for a Sick Woman, 


This road to Kiakhta, which we thus came upon unex- 
pectedly amid the deserts of Tartary, created a deep emotion 
in our hearts. “‘ Here,” said we to each other, “here is a road 
which leads to Europe! ” Our native land presented itself 
before our imagination, and we spontaneously entered upon 
the road, which connected us with our beloved France. The 
conversation that rose to our lips from our hearts was so 
pleasing that we insensibly advanced. The sight of some 
Mongol tents on an adjacent eminence recalled us to a sense 
of our position, and at the same moment a loud cry came 
from a Tartar whom we saw gesticulating in front of the 
tents. Not understanding the cry to be addressed to us, we 
turned and were proceeding on our route when the Tartar, 
jumping on his horse, galloped after us; upon reaching us, he 
alighted and knelt before us. “ Holy sirs,” said he, raising 
his hands before Heaven, “ have pity upon me and save my 
mother from death. I know your power is infinite: come and 
preserve my mother by your prayers.” The parable of the 
good Samaritan came before us, and we felt that charity for- 
bad us to pass on without doing all we could in the matter. 
We therefore turned once more, in order to encamp near 
the Tartars. 

While Samdadchiemba arranged our tent, we went, 
without loss of time, to tend the sick woman, whom we found 
in.a very deplorable state. ‘‘ Inhabitants of the desert,” said 
we to her friends, “‘ we know not the use of simples, we are 
unacquainted with the secrets of life, but we will pray to 
Jehovah for this sick person. You have not heard of this 


76 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Almighty God — your lamas know him not; but, be assured, 
Jehovah is the master of life and of death.” Circumstances 
did not permit us to dwell on the theme to these poor people, 
who, absorbed in grief and anxiety, could pay little attention 
to our words. We returned to our tent to pray, the Tartar 
accompanying us. When he saw our breviary, ‘‘ Are these,” 
asked he, “ the all-powerful prayers to Jehovah of which you 
spoke? ” “ Yes,” said we; “ these are the only true prayers, 
the only prayers than can save.” Thereupon he prostrated 
himself successively before each of us, touching the ground 
with his forehead; then he took the breviary and raised it 
to his head in token of respect. During our recitation of the 
prayers for the sick the Tartar remained seated at the entrance 
of the tent, preserving a profound and religious silence. 
When we had finished, “ Holy men,” said he, again prostrat- 
ing himself, “ how can I make acknowledgments for your 
great benefits? I am poor; I can offer you neither horse nor 
sheep.” “ Mongol brother,” we replied, “ the priests of Je- 
hovah may not offer up prayers for the sake of enriching 
themselves; since thou art not rich, accept from us this trifling 
gift ”; and we presented to him a fragment of a tea-brick. 
The Tartar was profoundly moved with this proceeding; he 
could not say a word, his only answer to us was tears of grati- 
tude. 

We heard next morning with pleasure that the Tartar 
woman was much better. We would fain have remained a few 
days in the place, in order to cultivate the germ of the true 
faith thus planted in the bosom of this family; but we were 
compelled to proceed. Some of the Tartars escorted us a 
short distance on our way. 


Mongol Medicine. 


Medicine in Tartary, as we have already observed, is 
exclusively practised by the lamas. When illness attacks any- 


MONGOL MEDICINE iF | 


one, his friends run to the nearest monastery for a lama, 
whose first proceeding upon visiting the patient is to run his 
fingers over the pulse of both wrists simultaneously, as the 
fingers of a musician run over the strings of an instrument. 
The Chinese physicians feel both pulses also, but in succes- 
sion. After due deliberation the lama pronounces his opin- 
ion as to the particular nature of the malady. According to 
the religious belief of the Tartars, all illness is owing to the 
visitation of a Tchutgour, or demon; but the expulsion of 
the demon is first a matter of medicine. The lama physician 
next proceeds, as lama apothecary, to give the specific be- 
fitting the case; the Tartar pharmacopceia rejecting all min- 
eral chemistry, the lama remedies consist entirely of vege- 
tables pulverized and either infused in water or made up 
into pills. If the lama doctor happens not to have any medi- 
cine with him, he is by no means disconcerted; he writes the 
names of the remedies upon little scraps of paper, moistens 
the papers with his saliva, and rolls them up into pills, which 
the patient tosses down with the same perfect confidence as 
though they were genuine medicaments. To swallow the 
name of a remedy or the remedy itself, say the Tartars, comes 
to precisely the same thing. 

The medical assault of the usurping demon being ap- 
plied, the lama next proceeds to spiritual artillery, in the 
form of prayers, adapted to the quality of the demon who 
has to be dislodged. If the patient is poor, the Tchutgour 
visiting him can evidently be only an inferior Tchutgour, re- 
quiring merely a brief, offhand prayer, sometimes merely 
an interjectional exorcism. If the patient 1s very poor, the 
lama troubles himself with neither prayer nor pill, but goes 
away recommending the friends to wait with patience until 
the sick person gets better or dies, according to the decree of 
Hormoustha. But where the patient is rich, the possessor of 
large flocks, the proceedings are altogether different, First, 


78 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


it is obvious that a devil who presumes to visit so eminent a 
personage must be a potent devil, one of the chiefs of the 
lower world; and it would not be decent for a great Tchut- 
gour to travel like a mere sprite; the family, accordingly, 
are directed to prepare for him a handsome suit of clothes, a 
pair of rich boots, a fine horse, ready saddled and bridled; 
otherwise the devil will never think of going, physic or 
exorcize him how you may. It is even possible, indeed, that 
one horse will not suffice, for the demon, in very rich cases, 
may turn out, upon inquiry, to be so high and mighty a prince 
that he has with him a number of courtiers and attendants, 
all of whom have to be provided with horses. 

Everything being arranged, the ceremony commences. 
The lama and numerous co-physicians, called in from his 
own and other adjacent monasteries, offer up prayers in the 
rich man’s tents for a week or a fortnight, until they perceive 
that the devil is gone — that is to say, until they have ex- 
hausted all the disposable tea and sheep. If the patient re- 
covers, it is a clear proof that the prayers have been effica- 
ciously recited; if he dies, it is a still greater proof of the 
efficaciousness of the prayers, for not only is the devil gone, 
but the patient has transmigrated to a state far better than 
that he has quitted. 


Terrifying Exorcism. 


The prayers recited by the lamas for the recovery of 
the sick are sometimes accompanied with very dismal and 
alarming rites. The aunt of Tokoura, chief of an encamp- 
ment in the Valley of Dark Waters, visited by M. Huc, was 
seized one evening with an intermittent fever. “I would 
invite the attendance of the doctor lama, ” said Tokoura, 
“but if he finds that there is a very big Tchutgour present, 


the expenses will ruin me.” He waited for some days; but as — 


his aunt grew worse and worse, he at last sent for a lama; 


Lace Se 


TERRIFYING EXORCISM 79 


his anticipations were confirmed. The lama pronounced that 
a demon of considerable rank was present, and that no time 
must be lost in expelling him. Eight other lamas were forth- 
with called in, who at once set about the construction, in dried 
herbs, of a great puppet, which they entitled the “ Demon 
of Intermittent Fevers,” and which, when completed, they 
placed on its legs by means of a stick, in the patient’s tent. 

The ceremony began at eleven o’clock at night; the 
lamas ranged themselves in a semi-circle round the upper 
portion of the tent, with cymbals, sea-shells, bells, tambour- 
ines, and other instruments of the noisy Tartar music. The 
remainder of the circle was completed by the members of 
the family, squatting on the ground close to one another, 
the patient kneeling, or rather crouched on her heels, oppo- 
site the “ Demon of Intermittent Fevers.” The lama doctor- 
in-chief had before him a large copper basin filled with mil- 
let, and some little images made of paste. The dung-fuel 
threw, amid much smoke, a fantastic and quivering light over 
the strange scene. 

Upon a given signal the clerical orchestra executed an 
overture harsh enough to frighten Satan himself, the lay 
congregation beating time with their hands to the charivari 
of clanging instruments and ear-splitting voices. The diabol- 
ical concert over, the Grand Lama opened the book of exor- 
cisms, which he rested on his knees. As he chanted one of the 
forms, he took from the basin, from time to time, a handful 
of millet, which he threw east, west, north, and south, ac- 
cording to the rubric. The tones of his voice, as he prayed, 
were sometimes mournful and suppressed, sometimes vehe- 
mently loud and energetic. All of a sudden he would quit the 
regular cadence of prayer and have an outburst of apparently 
indomitable rage, abusing the herb puppet with fierce in- 
Vvectives and furious gestures. The exorcism terminated, he 
gave a signal by stretching out his arms, right and left, and 


80 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


the other lamas struck up a tremendously noisy chorus, in 
hurried, dashing tones; all the instruments were set to work, 
and meantime the lay congregation, having started up with 
one accord, ran out of the tent, one after the other, and, tear- 
ing round it like mad people, beat it at their hardest with 
sticks, yelling all the while at the pitch of their voices in a 
manner to make ordinary hair stand on end. Having thrice 
performed this demoniac round, they re-entered the tent 
as precipitately as they had quitted it, and resumed their 
seats. Then, all the others covering their faces with their 
hands, the Grand Lama rose and set fire to the herb figure. 
As soon as the flames rose, he uttered a loud cry, which was 
repeated with interest by the rest of the company. The laity 
immediately rose, seized the burning figure, carried it into the 
plain, away from the tents, and there, as it consumed, anath- 
ematized it with all sorts of imprecations; the lamas mean- 
time squatted in the tent, tranquilly chanting their prayers in 
a grave, solemn tone. 

Upon the return of the family from their valorous ex- 
pedition, the praying was exchanged for joyous felicitations. 
By and by, each person provided with a lighted torch, the 
whole party rushed simultaneously from the tent and formed 
into a procession, the laymen first, then the patient, supported 
on either side by a member of the family, and lastly the nine 
lamas, making night hideous with their music. In this style 
the patient was conducted to another tent, pursuant to the 
orders of the lama, who had declared that she must absent 
herself from her own habitation for an entire month. 

After this strange treatment, the malady did not return. 
The probability is that the lamas, having ascertained the pre- 
cise moment at which the fever-fit would recur, met it at the 
exact point of time by this tremendous counter-excitement, 
and overcame it. ! 

Though the majority of the lamas seek to foster the 


FUNERAL CUSTOMS SI 


ignorant credulity of the Tartars, in order to turn it to their 
own profit, we have met some of them who frankly avowed 
that duplicity and imposture played a considerable part in 
all their ceremonies. The superior of a lamasery said to us one 
day: “ Whena person is ill, the recitation of prayers is proper, 
for Buddha is the master of life and death; it is he who rules 
the transmigration of beings. To take remedies is also fitting, 
for the great virtue of medicinal herbs also comes to us from 
Buddha. That the Evil One may possess a rich person 1s 
credible, but that in order to repel the Evil One the way is 
to give him dress and a horse and what not, this is a fiction in- 
vented by ignorant and deceiving lamas, who desire to ac- 
cumulate wealth at the expense of their brothers.” 


Funeral Customs. 


The manner of interring the dead among the Tartars 
is not uniform. The lamas are only called in to assist at ex- 
tremely grand funerals. Towards the Great Wall, where the 
Mongols are mixed up with the Chinese, the custom of 
the latter in this particular, as in others, has insensibly pre- 
vailed. There the corpse is placed, after the Chinese fashion, 
in a coffin, and the coffin in a grave. In the desert, among the 
true nomadic tribes, the entire ceremony consists in convey- 
ing the dead to the tops of hills or the bottoms of ravines, 
there to be devoured by the birds and beasts of prey. It is 
really horrible to travellers through the deserts of Tartary 
to see, as they constantly do, human remains, for which the 
eagles and the wolves are contending. 

The richer Tartars sometimes burn their dead with great 
solemnity. A large furnace of earth is constructed in a pyra- 
midical form. Just before it is completed, the body is placed 
inside, standing, surrounded with combustibles. The edifice 
is then completely covered in, with the exception of a small 
hole at the bottom to admit fire, and another at the top 


82 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


to give egress to the smoke and keep up a current of air. 
During the combustion the lamas surround the tomb and re- 
cite prayers. The corpse being burnt, they demolish the 
furnace and remove the bones, which they carry to the Grand 
Lama; he reduces them to a very fine powder, and, having 
added to them an equal quantity of meal, he kneads the whole 
with care and constructs, with his own hands, cakes of differ- 
ent sizes, which he places one upon the other, in the form 
of a pyramid. When the bones have been thus prepared 
by the Grand Lama, they are transported with great pomp to 
a little tower built beforehand in a place indicated by the di- 
viner. 

They almost always give to the ashes of the lamas a 
sepulture of this description. You meet with a great number 
of these monumental towers on the summits of the moun- 
tains, and in the neighbourhood of the lamaseries; and you 
may find them in countries whence the Mongols have been 
driven by the Chinese. In other respects these countries — 
scarcely retain any trace of the Tartars: the lamaseries, the 
pasturages, the shepherds, with their tents and flocks, all 
have disappeared, to make room for new people, new mon- 
uments, new customs. A few small towers raised over graves 
alone remain there, as if to assert the rights of the ancient 
possessors of these lands and to protest against the invasion 
of the Kitat. 

The most celebrated seat of Mongol burials is in the 
province of Chan-Si, at the famous Lamasery of Five Towers 
(Ou-Tay). According to the Tartars, the Lamasery of Five 
Towers is the best place you can be buried in. The ground in 
it is so holy that those who are so fortunate as to be interred 
there are certain of a happy transmigration thence. The mar- 
vellous sanctity of this place is attributed to the presence of 
Buddha, who for some centuries past has taken up his abode 
there in the interior of a mountain. In 1842 the noble Tok- 


HUMAN SACRIFICES 83 


oura, of whom we have already had occasion to speak, con- 
veying the bones of his father and mother to the Five Towers, 
had the infinite happiness to behold there the venerable Bud- 
dha. “Behind the great monastery,” he told us, “ there is 
a very lofty mountain, which you must climb by creeping 
on your hands and feet. Just towards the summit you come 
to a portico cut in the rock; you lie down on the earth and look 
through a small aperture not larger than the bowl of a pipe. 
It is some time before you can distinguish anything, but by 
degrees your eye gets used to the place, and you have 
the happiness of beholding, at length, in the depths of the 
mountain the face of the ancient Buddha. He is seated cross- 
legged, doing nothing. There are around him lamas of all 
countries, who are continually paying homage to him.” 

Whatever you may think of Tokoura’s narrative, it is 
certain that the Tartars and the Thibetians have given them- 
selves up to an inconceivable degree of fanaticism in refer- 
ence to the Lamasery of the Five Towers. You frequently 
meet, in the deserts of Tartary, Mongols carrying on their 
shoulders the bones of their parents to the Five Towers, to 
purchase, almost at its weight in gold, a few feet of earth, 
whereon they may raise a small mausoleum. Even the Mon- 
gols of Torgot perform journeys occupying a whole year, 
and attended with immense difficulty, to visit for this pur- 
pose the province of Chan-Si. 


Human Sacrifices. Children Stuffed with Mercury. 


The Tartar kings sometimes make use of a sepulture 
which is the height of extravagance and barbarism. The 
royal corpse is conveyed to a vast edifice constructed of 
bricks and adorned with numerous statues representing men, 
lions, elephants, tigers, and various subjects of Buddhic my- 
thology. With the illustrious defunct they bury in a large 
cavern, constructed in the centre of the building, large sums 


84 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


of gold and silver, royal robes, precious stones — in short, 
everything which he may need in another life. These mon- 
strous interments sometimes cost the lives of a great number 
of slaves. They take children of both sexes, remarkable for 
their beauty, and make them swallow mercury till they are 
suffocated; in this way they preserve, they say, the fresh- 
_ ness and ruddiness of their countenance, so as to make them 
appear still alive. These unfortunate victims are placed up- 
right round the corpse of their master, continuing, in this 
fashion, to serve him as during life. They hold in their hands 
the pipe, fan, the small phial of snuff, and the numerous 
other knick-knacks of the Tartar kings. 

To protect these buried treasures, they place in the 
cavern a kind of bow, capable of discharging a number of 
arrows, one after the other. This bow, or rather these several 
bows joined together, are all bent, and the arrows ready to 
fly. They place this infernal machine in such a manner that, 
on opening the door of the cavern, the movement causes 
the discharge of the first arrow at the man who enters; the 
discharge of the first arrow causes the discharge of the second, 
and so on to the last —so that the unlucky person whom 
covetousness or curiosity should induce to open the door 
would fall, pierced with many arrows, in the tomb he sought 
to profane. They sell these murderous machines ready pre- 
pared by the bow-makers. The Chinese sometimes purchase 
them, to guard their houses in their absence. 


The Kingdom of Efe. The Young Wrestlers. 

After a march of two days we entered the district called 
the kingdom of Efe. 

A Tartar horseman travelled with us a part of our way 
through the kingdom. From time to time he showed us chil- 
dren engaged in wrestling. “ This,” said he, “is the favour- 
ite exercise with all the inhabitants of our kingdom of Efe. © 


ENCOUNTER WITH WOLVES 85 


We esteem in a man but two things — his being a good horse- 
man and his being a good wrestler.” There was one group 
of youthful wrestlers whom, exercising as they were on the 
side of our road, we were enabled to watch closely and at 
leisure; their ardour redoubled when they saw we were look- 
ing at them. The tallest of the party, who did not seem more 
than eight or nine years old, took in his arms one of his com- 
panions, nearly his own height and very fat, and amused 
himself with tossing him above his head and catching him 
again, as you would a ball. He repeated this feat seven or 
eight times, and at every repetition we trembled for the life 
of the boy; but the rest of the children only gambolled about, 
applauding the success of the performers. 


Encounter with Three Wolves. How These Beasts Are Hunted. 


On the twenty-second day of the eighth moon, on quit- 
ting the petty kingdom of Efe, we ascended a mountain on 
the sides of which grew thickets of fir and birch. The sight of 
these at first gave us great pleasure. The deserts of Tartary 
are in general so monotonously bare that you cannot fail to 
experience a pleasurable sensation when you come upon some 
occasional trees on your way. Our first feelings of joy were, 
however, soon demolished by a sentiment of a very different 
nature; we were as though frozen with horror on perceiving 
at a turn of the mountain, three enormous wolves, that 
seemed awaiting us with calm intrepidity. At sight of these 
villainous beasts we stopped suddenly and, as it were, in- 
stinctively. After a moment of general stupor Samdadchi- 
emba descended from his mule and wrung the noses of our 
camels. The expedient succeeded marvellously; the poor 
beasts sent forth such piercing and terrible cries that the 
scared wolves dashed off with all speed. Arsalan, who saw 
them flee, thinking undoubtedly that it was himself they 
were afraid of, pursued them at the utmost speed of his 


86 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


legs; soon the wolves turned round, and our tent-porter 
would have been infallibly devoured had not M. Gabet 
rushed to his aid, uttering loud cries and wringing the nose 
of his camel; the wolves, having taken flight a second time, 
disappeared without our again thinking of pursuing them. 

Although the want of population might seem to abandon 
the interminable deserts of Tartary to wild beasts, wolves 
are rarely met with. This arises, no doubt, from the inces- 
sant and vindictive warfare which the Mongols wage against 
them. They pursue them everywhere to the death, regarding 
them as their capital enemy, on account of the great damage 
they may inflict upon their flocks. The announcement that 
a wolf has made its appearance in a neighbourhood is for 
everyone a signal to mount his horse. As there are always 
near each tent horses ready saddled, in an instant the plain 
is covered with numerous cavalry, all armed with their long 
lasso-pole. The wolf in vain flees in every direction: it meets 
everywhere horsemen who rush upon it. There is no moun- 
tain so rugged or arduous up which the Tartar horses, agile 
as goats, cannot pursue it. The horseman who is at length 
successful in passing round its neck the running knot gallops 
off at full speed, dragging the wolf after him to the near- 
est tent; there they strongly bind its muzzle, so that they may 
torture it securely; and then, by way of finale, skin it alive, 
and turn it off. In summer the wretched brute lives in this 
condition several days; but in winter, exposed without a 
skin to the rigours of the season, it dies forthwith, frozen 
with cold, 


NSS INS 
5G 9756 De 5G Oe NG eRe aes 


Sad ERO V 


WITH some rare exceptions, the imperial benefactions go 
very little way towards the construction of the lamaseries. 
Those grand and sumptuous monuments, so often met with 
in the desert, are due to the free and spontaneous zeal of 
the Mongols. So simple and economical in their dress and 
manner of living, these people are generous— we might 
say, astonishingly prodigal —in all that concerns religious 
worship and expenditure. When it is resolved to construct 
a Buddhist temple, surrounded by its lamasery, lama col- 
lectors go on their way forthwith, provided with passports 
attesting the authenticity of their mission. They disperse 
themselves throughout the kingdom of Tartary, beg alms 
from tent to tent in the name of the Old Buddha. Upon en- 
tering a tent and explaining the object of their journey, by 
showing the sacred basin in which the offerings are placed, 
they are received with joyful enthusiasm. There is no one 
but gives something. The rich place in the dadir ingots of 
gold and silver; those who do not possess the precious metals 
offer oxen, horses, or camels. The poorest contribute accord- 
ing to the extent of their means; they give lumps of butter, 
furs, ropes made of the hair of camels and horses. Thus in 
a short time are collected immense sums. Then in these des- 
erts, apparently so poor, you see rise up, as if by enchant- 
ment, edifices whose grandeur and wealth would defy the 
resources of the richest potentates. It was doubtless in the 
same manner, by the zealous co-operation of the faithful, 
that were constructed in Europe those magnificent cathe- 
drals whose stupendous beauty is an abiding reproach to mod- 
ern selfishness and indifference. 


88 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


It would be difficult to say to what order of architecture 
the Buddhist temples of Tartary belong. They are always 
fantastical constructions of monstrous colonnades, peristyles 
with twisted columns, and endless ascents. Opposite the great 
gate is a kind of altar of wood or stone, usually in the form 
of a cone reversed; on this the idols are placed, mostly seated 
cross-legged. These idols are of colossal stature, but their 
faces are fine and regular, except in the preposterous leagth 
of the ears; they belong to the Caucasian type and are wholly 
distinct from the monstrous, diabolical physiognomies of 
the Chinese Pou-Ssa. 

Before the great idol, and on the same level with it, 
is a gilt seat where the living F6, the Grand Lama of the 
lamasery, is seated. All around the temple are long tables 
almost level with the ground, a sort of ottomans covered 
with carpet; and between each row there is a vacant space, so 
that the lamas may move about freely. 

When the hour for prayer is come, a lama whose office it 
is to summon the guests of the convent proceeds to the great 
gate of the temple and blows, as loud as he can, a sea-conch, 
successively towards the four cardinal points. Upon hearing 
this powerful instrument, audible for a league round, the 
lamas put on the mantle and cap of ceremony and assemble 
in the great inner court. When the time is come, the sea- 
conch sounds again, the great gate is opened, and the living 
F6 enters the temple. As soon as he is seated upon the altar, 
all the lamas lay their red boots at the vestibule and advance 
barefoot and in silence. As they pass him, they worship the 
living F6 by three prostrations, and then place themselves 
upon the divan, each according to his dignity. They sit cross- 
legged, always in a circle. 

As soon as the master of the ceremonies has given the 
signal, by tinkling a little bell, each murmurs in a low voice a 
preliminary prayer, whilst he unrolls upon his knees the 


PRAYERS AND PSALMODIES 89 


prayers directed by the rubric. After this short recitation, fol- 
lows a moment of profound silence; the bell is again rung, 
and then commences a psalm in double chorus, grave and 
melodious. The Thibetian prayers, ordinarily in verse and 
written in a metrical and well-cadenced style, are marvel- 


INTERIOR OF BUDDHIST TEMPLE. 


lously adapted for harmony. At certain pauses, indicated 
by the rubric, the lama musicians execute a piece of music, 
little in concert with the melodious gravity of the psalmody. 
It is a confused and deafening noise of bells, cymbals, tam- 
bourines, sea-conchs, trumpets, pipes, &c., each musician 
playing on his instrument with a kind of ecstatic fury, 
trying with his brethren who shall make the greatest 
noise. 


Te) TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Marvellous Dissection of a Deer. The Unexpected Guest. 


As we were entering upon the Red Banner, we met a 
Mongol hunter, who was carrying behind him on his horse 
a fine roebuck he had just killed. We had been so long re- 
duced to our insipid oatmeal, seasoned with a few bits of 
mutton fat, that the sight of the venison inspired us with a 
somewhat decided desire to vary our entertainment; we felt, 
moreover, that our stomachs, weakened by our daily pri- 
vations, imperiously demanded a more substantial alimenta- 
tion. After saluting the hunter, therefore, we asked him if 
he was disposed to sell his venison. “ Sirs Lamas,” replied 
he, “when I placed myself in ambush to await the deer, I 
had no thought of trading in my head. The Chinese carmen 
stationed up yonder beyond Tchortchi wanted to buy my 
game for four hundred sapeks, but I said no. But to you, Sirs 
Lamas, I speak not as to Kitat; there is my roebuck: give me 
what you please for it.” We told Samdadchiemba to pay the 
hunter five hundred sapeks; and, hanging the venison over 
the neck of one of the camels, we proceeded on our way. 

Five hundred sapeks are equivalent to about fifty sous, 
and this is the ordinary price of a roebuck in Tartary; the 
price of a sheep is thrice that amount. Venison is little es- 
teemed by the Tartars, and still less by the Chinese; black 
meat, say they, is never so good as white. Yet in the larger 
cities of China, and especially at Peking, black meat has hon- 
ourable place on the tables of the rich and of the mandarins, 
a circumstance, however, to be attributed to the scarcity of 
the article, and a desire for variety. The Manchus, indeed, do 
not come within the preceding observation; for, great lovers 
of hunting, they are also great lovers of its produce, and 
especially of bears, stags, and pheasants. 

It was just past noon when we came to a spot mar- 
vellously beautiful. After passing through a narrow open- 


DISSECTION OF A DEER gI 


ing between two rocks whose summits seemed lost in the 
clouds, we found ourselves in a large enclosure, surrounded 
by lofty hills, on which grew a number of scattered pines. An 
abundant fountain supplied a small stream, whose banks 
were covered with angelica and wild mint. The rivulet, 
after making the circuit of the enclosure, amid rich grass, 
had its issue thence by an opening similar to that by which 
we had entered the place. No sooner had a glance compre- 
hended the attractions of the spot than Samdadchiemba 
moved that we should at once set up our tent there. “ Let us 
go no farther today,” said he; “ let us encamp here. We have 
not gone far this morning, it is true, and the sun is still very 
high; but we have got the venison to prepare and should 
therefore encamp earlier than usual.” No one opposing the 
honourable gentleman’s motion, it was put and carried unan- 
imously, and we proceeded to set up our tent by the side 
of the spring. 

Samdadchiemba had often talked of his great dexterity 
in the dissection of animals, and he was delighted with this 
opportunity of displaying his excellence in this respect. Hav- 
ing suspended the roebuck from a pine-branch, sharpened his 
knife upon a tent-pin, and turned up his sleeves to the el- 
bow, he asked whether we would have the animal dismem- 
bered 4 la Chinoise, a la Turque, or 4 la Tartare. Unprovided 
with any reason for preferring any one of these modes to 
the other two, we left it to Samdadchiemba to obey the im- 
pulse of his genius in the matter. In a minute he had skinned 
and gutted the animal, and he then cut away the flesh from 
the bones, in one piece, without separating the limbs, so as to 
leave suspended from the tree merely the skeleton of the 
deer. This, it appeared, was the Turkish fashion, in use upon 
long journeys, in order to relieve travellers from the use- 
less burden of bones. 

This operation completed, Samdadchiemba cut some 


92 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


slices of venison and proceeded to fry them in mutton fat, 
a manner of preparing venison not perhaps in strict accord- 
ance with the rules of the culinary art; but the difficulty of the 
circumstances did not allow us to do better. Our banquet 
was soon ready, but, contrary to our expectations, we were 
not the first to taste it; we had seated ourselves triangularly 
on the grass, having in the midst the lid of the pot, which 
served us as a dish, when all of a sudden we heard, as it were, 
the rushing of a storm over our heads; a great eagle dashed, 
like a lightning stroke, upon our entertainment, and immedi- 
ately rose with equal rapidity, bearing off in each claw a large 
slice of venison. Upon recovering from our fright at this 
sudden incident, we ourselves were fain to laugh at the ludi- 
crous aspect of the matter, but Samdadchiemba did not laugh 
by any means; he was in a paroxysm of fury, not indeed at 
the loss of the venison, but because the eagle, in its flight, had 
insolently dealt him a sound box on the‘ear with the eXx- 
tremity of its great wings. 


A Rarity: Tartar Farmers! 


After several days’ journey we quitted the country of 
the Eight Banners and entered Western Toumet. At the 
time of the conquest of China by the Manchus, the king of 
Toumet, having distinguished himself in the expedition as 
an auxiliary of the invaders, the conqueror, in order to evince 
his gratitude for the services which the prince had rendered 
him, gave him the fine districts situated north of Peking, be- 
yond the Great Wall. From that period they have borne the 
name of Eastern Toumet, and Old Toumet took that of 
Western Toumet; the two Toumets are separated from each 
other by the Tchakar River. 

The Mongol Tartars of Western Toumet do not lead 
the pastoral and nomadic life; they cultivate their lands and 
apply themselves to the arts of civilized nations. We had been 


TARTAR FARMERS 93 


for nearly a month traversing the desert, setting up our tent 
for the night in the first convenient place we found, and 
accustomed to see nothing but above us the sky, and below 
and around us interminable prairies. We had long, as it 
were, broken with the world, for all we had seen of mankind 
had been a few Tartar horsemen dashing across the Land of 
Grass, like so many birds of passage. Without our suspect- 
ing it, our tastes had insensibly become modified, and the 
desert of Mongolia had created in us a temperament friendly 
to the tranquillity of solitude. When, therefore, we found 
ourselves amid the cultivation, the movement, the bustle, 
the confusion of civilized existence, we felt, as it were, op- 
pressed, suffocated; we seemed gasping for breath, and as 
though every moment we were going to be stifled. This im- 
pression, however, was evanescent; and we soon got to think 
that, after all, it was more comfortable and more agreeable 
after a day’s march to take up our abode in a warm, well- 
stored inn than to have to set up a tent, to collect fuel, and 
to prepare our own very meagre repast before we could take 
our rest. 

The inhabitants of Western Toumet, as may well be 
imagined, have completely lost the stamp of their original 
Mongol character; they have all become, more or less, Chi- 
nese; many of them do not even know a word of the Mongol 
language. Some, indeed, do not scruple to express contempt 
for their brothers of the desert, who refuse to subject their 
prairies to the ploughshare; they say, how ridiculous is it for 
men to be always vagabondizing about, and to have merely 
wretched tents wherein to shelter their heads, when they 
might so easily build houses, and obtain wealth and com- 
forts of all kinds from the land beneath their feet. And, 
indeed, the Western Toumetians are perfectly right in pre- 
ferring the occupation of agriculturist to that of shepherd, 
for they have magnificent plains, well watered, fertile, and 


94. TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


favourable to the production of all kinds of grain crops. 
When we passed through the country, harvest was over; 
but the great stacks of corn that we saw in all directions told 
us that the produce had been abundant and fine. Everything 
throughout Western Toumet bears the impress of affluence; 
nowhere, go in what direction you may, do you see the 
wretched tumble-down houses that disfigure the highways 


Vy 


8 ‘ y / V4 Ha 
AVM Yeo 
Ms” NC WEN 


TARTAR AGRICULTURIST. 


and by-ways of China; nowhere do you see the miserable, 
half-starved, half-clothed creatures that pain the hearts of 
travellers in every other country: all the peasants here are 
well fed, well lodged, and well clothed. All the villages 
and roads are beautified with groups and avenues of fine 
trees; whereas in the other Tartar regions, cultivated by the 
Chinese, no trees are to be seen; trees are not even planted, 
for everybody knows they would be pulled up next day by 
some miserable pauper or other for fuel. 


THE BLUE TOWN 95 


The Blue Town, Manchu Lack of Originality. Their Skill in Archery. 


We had made three days’ journey through the culti- 
vated lands of the Toumet when we entered Koukou-Hote 
(Blue Town), called in Chinese Koui-Hoa-Tchen. There are 
two towns of the same name, five /is distant from one an- 
other. The people distinguish them by calling the one “ Old 
Town ” and the other “ New Town,” or Commercial 
Town ” and “ Military Town.” We first entered the latter, 
which was built by the Emperor Khang-Hi, to defend the 
empire against its northern enemies. The town has a beau- 
tiful, noble appearance, which might be admired in Europe 
itself. We refer, however, only to its circuit of embattled 
walls, made of brick; for inside, the low houses, built in 
the Chinese style, are little in unison with the lofty, huge 
ramparts that surround them. The interior of the town offers 
nothing remarkable but its regularity and a large and beauti- 
ful street, which runs through it from east to west. A Kiang- 
Kiun, or military commandant, resides here with ten thou- 
sand soldiers, who are drilled every day; so that the town 
may be regarded as a garrison town. 

The soldiers of the New Town of Koukou-Khoton are 
Manchu Tartars; but if you did not previously know the 
fact, you would scarcely suspect it from hearing them speak. 
Amongst them there is perhaps not a single man who under- 
stands the language of his own country. Already two ages 
have passed away since the Manchus made themselves mas- 
ters of the vast empire of China, and you would say that 
during these two centuries they have been unceasingly work- 
ing out their own annihilation. Their manners, their lan- 
guage, their very country — all has become Chinese. It may 
now be affirmed that Manchu nationality has become ir- 
remediably annihilated. 

Yet, amid the general transformation, there are still a 


96 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


few tribes, such as the Si-Po and the Solon, which faith- 
fully retain the Manchu type. Up to the present day their 
territories have been invaded neither by the Chinese nor by 


ij AN NSS 4 
E\ {r |S WS AA 
‘A ; S 


CHINESE SOLDIER. 


cultivation; they continue to dwell in tents and to furnish 
soldiers to the imperial armies. 

The Manchus are excellent archers, and among them the 
tribe Solon are particularly eminent in this aspect. At all the 
military stations trials of skill with the bow take place on 
certain periodical occasions, in presence of the mandarins and 
of the assembled people. Three straw men, of the size of life, 
are placed in a straight line, at from twenty to thirty paces’ 


THE OLD BLUE TOWN 97 


distance from one another; the archer is on a line with them, 
about fifteen feet off from the first figure, his bow bent and 
his finger on the string. The signal being given, he puts his 
horse to a gallop and discharges his arrow at the first figure; 
without checking his horse’s speed he takes a second arrow 
from his quiver, places it in the bow, and discharges it against 
the second figure, and so with the third; all this while the 
horse is dashing at full speed along the line of the figures, 
so that the rider has to keep himself firm in the stirrups 
while he manceuvres with the promptitude necessary to avoid 
the getting beyond his mark. From the first figure to the 
second the archer has bare time for drawing his arrow, fix- 
ing, and discharging it, so that when he shoots, he has gen- 
erally to turn somewhat on his saddle; and as to the third 
shot, he has to discharge it altogether in the old Parthian 
fashion. Yet for a competitor to be deemed a good archer, 
it is essential that he should fire an arrow into every one of 
the three figures. “ To know how to shoot an arrow,” writes 
a Manchu author, “is the first and most important knowl- 
edge for a Tartar to acquire. Though success therein seems 
an easy matter, success is of rare occurrence. How many are 
there who practise day and night! How many are there who 
sleep with the bow in their arms! and yet how few are there 
who have rendered themselves famous! How few are there 
whose names are proclaimed at the matches! Keep your 
frame straight and firm; avoid vicious postures; let your 
shoulders be immovable. Fire every arrow into its mark, 
and you may be satisfied with your skill.” 


Appearance of the Old Blue Town. 


_ From the Manchu town to the Old Blue Town is not 
more than half an hour’s walk, along a broad road, con- 
structed through the large market, which narrowed the town. 
With the exception of the lamaseries, which rise above the 


98 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


other buildings, you see before you merely an immense mass 
of houses and shops huddled confusedly together, without 
any order or arrangement whatever. The ramparts of the 
old town still exist in all their integrity, but the increase of 
the population has compelled the people by degrees to 
pass this barrier. Houses have risen outside the walls one 
after another until large suburbs have been formed, and now 
the extra-mural city is larger than the city proper. 

We entered the city by a broad street, which exhibited 
nothing remarkable except the large lamasery, called, in 
common with the more celebrated establishment in the prov- 
ince of Chan-Si, the Lamasery of the Five Towers. It de- 
rives this appellation from a handsome square tower with 
five turrets, one, very lofty, in the centre and one at each 
angle. 5s 

Just beyond this the broad street terminated, and there 
was no exit but a narrow lane running right and left. We 
turned down what seemed the least dirty of these, but soon 
found ourselves in a liquid slough of mud and filth, black 
and of suffocating stench —we had got into the Street of 
the Tanners. We advanced slowly and shudderingly, for be- 
neath the mire lay hid, now a great stone over which we 
stumbled, now a hole into which we sank. To complete our 
misfortune, we all at once heard before us deafening cries 
and shouts, indicating that, along the tortuosities of the lane 
in which we were, horsemen and carts were about to meet 
us. To draw back or to stand aside was equally impossible, so 
that our only resource was to bawl on our own account, and, 
advancing, take our chance. At the next turning we met the 
cavalcade, and something extremely disagreeable seemed 
threatening us, when, upon sight of our camels, the horses 
of the other party took fright and, turning right round, gal- 
loped off in utter confusion, leaving the way clear before 
us. Thus, thanks to our beasts of burden, we were enabled 


THE OBLIGING CHINAMAN 99 


to continue our journey without giving the way to anyone, 
and we at last arrived without any serious accident in a spa- 
cious street, adorned on each side with fine shops. 


The Obliging Chinaman. 


We looked about for an inn, but fruitlessly; we saw 
several inns, indeed, but these were not of the kind we sought. 
In the great towns of northern China and Tartary each inn 
is devoted to a particular class of travellers and will receive 
no other. “ The Corn-dealers’ Arms” inn, for example, will 
not admit a horse-dealer, and so on. The inns which devote 
themselves to the entertainment of mere travellers are called 
the taverns of the Transitory Guests. We were pausing, anx- 
iously looking about for one of these, when a young man, 
hastening from an adjacent shop, came up to us. “ You seek 
an inn, gentlemen travellers,” said he; “ suffer me to guide 
you to one; yet I scarcely know one in the Blue City worthy 
of you. Men are innumerable here, my Lords Lamas; a few 
good, but, alas! most bad. I speak it from my heart. In the 
Blue City you would with difficulty find one man who is 
guided by his conscience; yet conscience is a treasure! You 
Tartars, you, indeed, know well what conscience is. Ah! I 
know the Tartars well! excellent people, right-hearted souls! 
We Chinese are altogether different — rascals, rogues. Not 
one Chinaman in ten thousand heeds conscience. Here, in 
this Blue City, everybody, with the merest exceptions, makes 
it his business to cheat the worthy Tartars and rob them of 
their goods. Oh! it’s shameful! ” 

And the excellent creature threw up his eyes as he de- 
nounced the knavery of his townsmen. We saw very clearly, 
however, that the direction taken by the eyes thus thrown up 
was the camel’s back, whereon were two large cases, which 
our disinterested adviser no doubt took to contain precious 
merchandise. However, we let him lead us on and chatter 


TOO TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


as he pleased. When we had been wandering about under 
his escort for a full hour and yet had reached no inn, we said 
to him: “* We cannot think of troubling you further, since 
you yourself seem not to know where we may find that which 
we need.” “ Be perfectly easy, my lords,” replied he; “I 
am guiding you to an excellent, a superexcellent hotel. Don’t 
mention a word as to troubling me; you pain me by the idea. 
What! are we not all brothers? Away with the distinction 
between Tartar and Chinese! True, the language is not the 
same, nor the dress; but men have but one heart, one con- 
science, one invariable rule of justice. Just wait one mo- 
ment for me, my lords; I will be with you again before you 
can look round,” and so saying he dived into a shop on the 
left. He was soon back with us, making a thousand apologies 
for having detained us. “ You must be very tired, my lords; 
one cannot be otherwise when one is travelling. ’Tis quite dif- 
ferent from being with one’s own family.” As he spoke, we 
were accosted by another Chinese, a ludicrous contrast with 
our first friend, whose round, shining, smiling face was per- 
fectly intense in its aspect of benevolence. The other fellow 
was meagre and lanky, with thin, pinched lips and little black 
eyes, half buried in the head, that gave to the whole physiog- 
nomy a character of the most thorough knavery. “ My Lords 
Lamas,” said he, “I see you have just arrived! Excellent! 
And you have journeyed safely. Well, well! Your camels are 
magnificent; ’tis no wonder you travel fast and securely upon 
such animals. Well, you have arrived: that’s a great happi- 
ness. Se-Eul,” he continued, addressing the Chinese who had 
first got hold of us, “ you are guiding these noble Tartars to 
an hotel. "Tis well! Take care that the hotel is a good one, 
worthy of the distinguished strangers. What think you of the 
‘Tavern of Eternal Equity? ? ” “ The very hotel whither I 
was leading the Lords Lamas.” “ There is none better in the 
empire. By the way, the host is an acquaintance of mine. I 
cannot do better than accompany you and recommend these 


A TURKISH HOSTELRY IOI 


noble ‘Lartars to his best care. In fact, if I were not to go with 
you, I should have a weight upon my heart. When we are 
fortunate enough to meet brothers who need our aid, how 
can we do too much for them, for we are all brothers? My 
lords, you see this young man and myself; well, we two are 
clerks in the same establishment, and we make it our pride to 
serve our brothers the Tartars; for, alas! in this dreadful city 
there is but too little virtue.” 


A Turkish Hostelry. The Inn of the Three Perfections. 


Anyone hearing their professions of devoted zeal would 
have imagined these two personages to have been the friends 
of our childhood; but we were sufficiently acquainted with 
Chinese manners to perceive at once that we were the mark 
of a couple of swindlers. Accordingly, when we saw inscribed 
ona door, “ Hotel of the Three Perfections; transitory guests 
on horse and camel entertained, and their affairs transacted 
with infallible success,” we at once directed our course up the 
gateway, despite the vehement remonstrances of our worthy 
guides, and rode down a long avenue to the great square court 
of the hotel. The little blue cap worn by the attendants indi- 
cated that we were in a Turkish establishment. 

This proceeding of ours was not at all what the two 
Chinese desired; but they still followed us, and, without ap- 
pearing disconcerted, continued to act their parts. ‘ Where 
are the people of the hotel? ” cried they, with an immense 
air; “ let them prepare a large apartment, a fine, clean apart- 
ment. Their Excellencies have arrived, and must be suitably 
accommodated.” One of the principal waiters presented him- 
self, holding by his teeth a key, in one hand a broom, and in 
the other a watering-pot. Our two protectors immediately 
took possession of these articles. “ Leave everything to us,” 
said they; ‘it is we who claim the honour of personally wait- 
ing upon our illustrious friends; you, attendants of the hotel, 
you only do things by halves, actuated as you are merely by 


102 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


mercenary considerations.” And thereupon they set to work 
sprinkling, sweeping, and cleaning the room to which the 
waiter guided us. When this operation was concluded, we 
seated ourselves on the kang; the two Chinese “knew them- 
selves better than to sit by the side of our Eminent Distinc- 
tions,” and they accordingly squatted on the floor. As tea was 
being served, a young man, well attired and of exceedingly 
elegant address, came into the room, carrying by the four 
corners a silk handkerchief. “ Gentlemen Lamas,” said the 
elder of our previous companions, “ this young man is the 
son of our principal, and doubtless has been sent by his father 
to inquire after your health, and whether you have so far 
journeyed in peace.” The young man placed his handker- 
chief upon the table that stood before us. “ Here are some 
cakes my father has sent to be eaten with your tea. When you 
have finished that meal, he entreats you will come and par- 
take of an humble repast in our poor dwelling.” “ But why 
wear your hearts out thus for us mere strangers? ” “Oh! ” 
exclaimed all three in chorus, “ the words you utter cover us 
with blushes! What! can we do anything in excess for broth- 
ers who have thus honoured us with their presence in our 
poor city? ” } 

“Poor Tartars! ” said I in French to my colleague, 
“ how thoroughly eaten up they must be when they fall into 
such hands as these! ” These words, in an unknown tongue, 
excited considerable surprise in our worthy friends. “In 
which of the illustrious kingdoms of Tartary dwell your Ex- 
cellencies? ” asked one of them. “‘ We are not Tartars at all,” 
was the reply. “ Ah! we saw that at once; the Tartars have 
no such majesty of aspect as yours; their mien has no gran- 
deur about it! May we ask what is the noble country whence 
you come? ” “ We are from the West; our native land is far 
hence.” “ Quite so,” replied the eldest of the three knaves. 
“‘T knew it, and I said so to these young men, but they are 


SPOLIATION OF THE MONGOLS 103 


ignorant; they know nothing about physiognomy. Ah! you 
are from the West. I know your country well; I have been 
there more than once.” “ We are delighted to hear this: 
doubtless, then, you are acquainted with our language? ” 
Why, I cannot say I know it thoroughly; but there are 
some few words I understand. I can’t speak them, indeed; 
but that does not matter. You Western people are so clever, 
you know everything, the Chinese language, the Tartarian, 
the Western — you can speak them all. I have always been 
closely mixed up with your countrymen and have invariably 
been selected to manage their affairs for them whenever they 
come to the Blue Town. It is always I who make their pur- 
chases for them.” 

We had by this time finished our tea; our three friends 
rose, and, with a simultaneous bow, invited us to accompany 
them. “‘ My lords, the repast is by this time prepared, and 
our chief awaits you.” “ Listen,” said we, gravely, ‘“ while 
we utter words full of reason. You have taken the trouble to 
guide us to an inn, which shows you to be men of warm 
hearts; you have here swept for us and prepared our room; 
again, in proof of your excellent dispositions, your master 
has sent us pastry, which manifests in him a benevolence in- 
capable of exhaustion towards the wayfaring stranger. You 
now invite us to go and dine with you: we cannot possibly 
trespass so grossly upon your kindness. No, dear friends, you 
must excuse us; if we desire to make some purchases in your 
establishment, you may rely upon us. For the present we 
will not detain you. We are going to dine at the Turkish eat- 
ing-house.” So saying, we rose and ushered our excellent 
friends to the door. 


Spoliation of the Mongols by the Chinese. 


The commercial intercourse between the Tartars and 
the Chinese is revoltingly iniquitous on the part of the latter. 


104 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


So soon as Mongols, simple, ingenuous men if such there be 
at all in the world, arrive in a trading town, they are snapped 
up by some Chinese, who carry them off, as it were, by main 
force, to their houses, give them tea for themselves and 
forage for their animals, and cajole them in every conceiv- 
able way. The Mongols, themselves without guile and incap- 
able of conceiving guile in others, take all they hear to be 
perfectly genuine, and congratulate themselves, conscious as 
they are of their inaptitude for business, upon their good for- 
tune in thus meeting with brothers — A hatou, as they say — 
in whom they can place full confidence and who will under- 
take to manage their whole business for them. A good dinner 
provided gratis in the back shop completes the illusion. “If 
these people wanted to rob me,” says the Tartar to himself, 
“ they would not go to all this expense in giving me a dinner 
for nothing.” When once the Chinese has got hold of the 
Tartar, he employs over him all the resources of the skilful 
and utterly unprincipled knavery of the Chinese character. 
He keeps him in his house, eating, drinking, and smoking, 
one day after another, until his subordinates have sold all the 
poor man’s cattle, or whatever else he has to sell, and bought 
for him, in return, the commodities he requires, at prices 
double and triple the market value. But so plausible is the 
Chinese and so simple is the Tartar that the latter invariably 
departs with the most entire conviction of the immense phi- 
lanthropy of the former, and with a promise to return, when 
he has other goods to sell, to the establishment where he has 
been treated so fraternally. 


T he Money-Changer Confounded, 


The next morning we went out to purchase some winter 
clothing, the want of which began to make itself sensibly 
felt. But first, in order to facilitate our dealings, we had to 
sell some ounces of silver. The money of the Chinese con- 


THE MONEY—CHANGER IO$ 


sists entirely of small round copper coins, of the size of our 
halfpenny, with a square hole in the centre, through which 
the people string them, so that they may be more conveniently 
carried. These coins the Chinese call zsien, the Tartars dehos, 
and the Europeans sapeks. Gold and silver are not coined at 
all; they are melted into ingots of various sizes, and thus put 
into circulation. Gold-dust and gold-leaf are also current in 
commerce, and they also possess bank-notes. The ordinary 
value of the ounce of silver is seventeen or eighteen hundred 
sapeks, according to the scarcity or abundance of silver in the 
country. 

The money-changers have two irregular modes of mak- 
ing a profit by their traffic: if they state the fair price of silver 
to the customer, they cheat him in the weight; if their scales 
and their method of weighing are accurate, they diminish 
the price of the silver accordingly. But when they have to do 
with Tartars, they employ neither of these methods of 
fraud; on the contrary, they weigh the silver scrupulously, 
and sometimes allow a little overweight, and even they pay 
them above the market price; in fact, they appear to be quite 
losers by the transaction, and so they would be if the weight 
and the price of the silver alone were considered; their ad- 
vantage is derived, in these cases, from their manner of cal- 
culating the amount. When they come to reduce the silver 
into sapeks, they do indeed reduce it, making the most fla- 
grant miscalculations, which the Tartars, who can count noth- 
ing beyond their beads, are quite incapable of detecting, and 
which they, accordingly, adopt implicitly, and even with satis- 
faction, always considering they have sold their bullion well, 
since they know the full weight has been allowed and that 
the full market price has been given. 

At the money-changers’ in the Blue Town to which we 
went to sell some silver, the Chinese dealers essayed, accord- 
ing to custom, to apply this fraud to us, but they were 


106 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


disconcerted. The weight shown by their scales was perfectly 
correct, and the price they offered us was rather above the 
ordinary course of exchange, and the bargain between us was 
so far concluded. The chief clerk took the sowan-pan, the cal- 
culation table used by the Chinese, and, after calculating with 
an appearance of intense nicety, announced the result of his 
operation. “ This is an exchange-office,” said we; “you are 
the buyers, we the sellers; you have made your calculation, 
we will make ours: give usa pencil and a piece of paper.” — 
“ Nothing can be more just; you have enunciated a funda- 
mental law of commerce,” and, so saying, they handed us a 
writing-case. We took the pencil, and a very short calculation 
exhibited a difference in our favour of a thousand sapeks. 
“ Superintendent of the bank,” said we, “ your sowan-pan is 
in error by a thousand ae » __ Tmnocanles Do you 
think that all of a sudden I’ve forgotten my souan-pan? Let 
me go over it again ”; and he proceeded with an air of great 
anxiety to appear correct, to set his calculating machine once 
more in operation, the other customers by our side looking on 
with great amazement at all this. When he had done, “ Yes,” 
said he, “‘ I knew I was right; see, brother ”; and he passed 
the machine to a colleague behind the counter, who went 
over his calculation; the result of their operations was exactly 
the same to a fraction. “ You see,” said the principal, “ there 
is no error. How is it that our calculation does not agree with 
that which you have written down there? ” — “ It is unim- 
portant to inquire why your calculation does not agree with 
ours; this is certain, that your calculation is wrong and ours 
right. You see these little characters that we have traced on 
this paper; they are a very different thing from your sowan- 
pan; it is impossible for them to be wrong. Were all the cal- 
culators in the world to work the whole of their lives upon 
this operation, they could arrive at no other result than this: 
that your statement is wrong by a thousand sapeks.” 


THE MONEY—CHANGER 107 


The money-changers were extremely embarrassed and 
began to turn very red, when a bystander, who perceived that 
the affair was assuming an awkward aspect, presented himself 
as umpire. “ [Il reckon it up for you,” said he. He took the 
souan-pan, and his calculation agreed with ours. The super- 
intendent of the bank hereupon made us a profound bow. 
“Sirs Lamas,” said he, “your mathematics are better than 
mine.” “ Oh, not at all,” replied we, with a bow equally pro- 
found; “your sowan-pan is excellent, but who ever heard of 
a calculator always exempt from error? People like you may 
very well be mistaken once and away, whereas poor simple 
folks like us make blunders ten thousand times. Now, how- 
ever, we have fortunately concurred in our reckoning, thanks 
to the pains you have taken.” These phrases were rigorously 
required, under the circumstances, by Chinese politeness. 
Whenever any person in China is compromised by any awk- 
ward incident, those present always carefully refrain from 
any observation which may make him blush, or, as the Chi- 
nese phrase it, take away his face. 

After our conciliatory address had restored self-posses- 
sion to all present, everybody drew round the piece of paper 
on which we had cast up our sum in Arabic numerals. “ That 
is a fine souan-pan,” said one to another; “ simple, sure, and 
speedy.” — “ Sirs Lamas,” asked the principal, “ what do 
these characters mean? What souan-pan is this? ” “ This 
souan-pan is infallible,” returned we; “the characters are 
those which the Mandarins of Celestial Literature use in cal- 
culating eclipses and the course of the seasons.”* After a 
brief conversation on the merits of the Arabic numerals the 
cashier handed us the full amount of sapeks, and we parted 
good friends. 


1 The Fathers Jesuits introduced the use of Arabic numerals into the 
Observatory at Peking. 


108 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


The Old-Clothes-Dealer. 


Upon receiving our sapeks we proceeded to buy the 
winter clothing we needed. Upon a consideration of the 
meagreness of our exchequer we came to the resolution that 
it would be better to purchase what we required at some sec- 
ond-hand shop. In China and Tartary no one has the smallest 
repugnance to wear other people’s clothes; he who has not 
himself the attire wherein to pay a visit or make a holiday 
goes without ceremony to a neighbour and borrows a hat or a 
pair of trousers or boots or shoes or whatever else he wants, 
and nobody is at all surprised at these borrowings, which are 
quite a custom. The only hesitation anyone has in lending his 
clothes to a neighbour is lest the borrower should sell them in 
payment of some debt, or, after using them, pawn them. 
People who buy clothes buy them indifferently, new or sec- 
ond-hand. The question of price is alone taken into con- 
sideration, for there is no more delicacy felt about putting on 
another man’s hat or trousers than there is about living in a 
house that someone else has occupied before you. 

This custom of wearing other people’s things was by 
no means to our taste, and all the less so, that, ever since our 
arrival at the mission of Si-Wang, we had not been under the 
necessity of departing from our old habits in this respect. 
Now, however, the slenderness of our purse compelled us to 
waive our repugnance. We went out, therefore, in search of 
a second-hand clothes shop, of which, in every town here, 
there are a greater or less number, for the most part in con- 
nexion with pawnshops, called in these countries Tang-Pou. 
Those who borrow upon pledges are seldom able to redeem 
the articles they have deposited, which they accordingly leave 
to die, as the Tartars and Chinese express it; or, in other 
words, they allow the period of redemption to pass, and the 
articles pass altogether from them. The old-clothes shops of 


THE OLD—-CLOTHES—DEALER I09 


the Blue Town were filled in this way with Tartar spoils, so 
that we had the opportunity of selecting exactly the sort of 
things we required to suit the new costume we had adopted. 

At the first shop we visited they showed us a quantity of 
wretched garments turned up with sheepskin; but, though 
these rags were exceedingly old, and so covered with grease 
that it was impossible to guess at their original colour, the 
price asked for them was exorbitant. After a protracted hag- 
gling we found it impossible to come to terms and we gave up 
this first attempt; and we gave it up, be it added, with a cer- 
tain degree of satisfaction, for our self-respect was somewhat 
wounded at finding ourselves reduced even to the proposition 
of wearing such filthy rags. We visited another shop, and an- 
other, a third, and a fourth, and still several more. We were 
shown magnificent garments, handsome garments, fair gar- 
ments, endurable garments, but the consideration of expense 
was, in each instance, an impracticable stumbling-block. The 
journey we had undertaken might endure for several years, 
and extreme economy, at all events in the outset, was in- 
dispensable. After going about the whole day, after making 
the acquaintance of all the rag-merchants in the Blue Town, 
after turning over and over all their old clothes, we were fain 
to return to the second-hand dealer whom we had first visited, 
and to make the best bargain we could with him: We pur- 
chased from him, at last, two ancient robes of sheepskin, cov- 
ered with some material the nature of which it was impossible 
to identify, and the original colour of which we suspected to 
have been yellow. We proceeded to try them on, and it was 
at once evident that the tailor in making them had by no 
means had us in his eye. M. Gabet’s robe was too short, 
M. Huc’s too long; but a friendly exchange was impracti- 
cable, the difference in height between the two missionaries 
being altogether too disproportionate. We at first thought of 
cutting the excess from the one, in order to make up the 


IIo TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


deficiency of the other; but then we should have had to call 
in the aid of a tailor, and this would have involved another 
drain upon our purse; the pecuniary consideration decided 
the question, and we determined to wear the clothes as they 
were, M. Huc adopting the expedient of holding up, by 
means of a girdle, the surplus of his robe, and M. Gabet re- 
signing himself to the exposure to the public gaze of a por- 
tion of his legs; the main inconvenience, after all, being the 
manifestation to all who saw us that we could not attire our- 
selves in exact proportion to our size. 

Provided with our sheepskin coats, we next asked the 
dealer to show us his collection of second-hand winter hats. 
We examined several of these, and at last selected two caps 
of fox-skin, the elegant form of which reminded us of the 
shakos of our sappers. These purchases completed, each of us 
put under his arm his packet of old clothes, and we returned 
to the Hotel of the Three Perfections. 

We remained two days longer at Koukou-Khoton; for, 
besides that we needed repose, we were glad of the oppor- 
tunity of seeing this great town and of becoming acquainted 
with the numerous and celebrated lamaseries established — 
there. 


The Camel Market. 


The Blue Town enjoys considerable commercial im- 
portance, which it has acquired chiefly through its lamaseries, 
the reputation of which attracts thither Mongols from the 
most distant parts of the empire. The Mongols bring hither 
large herds of oxen, camels, horses, sheep, and loads of furs, 
mushrooms, and salt, the only produce of the deserts of Tar- 
tary. They receive, in return, brick-tea, linen, saddlery, odor- 
iferous sticks to burn before their idols, oatmeal, millet, and 
kitchen utensils. 

The Blue Town is especially noted for its great trade 


THE CAMEL MARKET III 


in camels. The camel market is a large square in the centre 
of the town; the animals are ranged here in long rows, their 
front feet raised upon a mud elevation constructed for that 
purpose, the object being to show off the size and height of 
the creatures. It is impossible to describe the uproar and con- 
fusion of this market, what with the incessant bawling of the 
buyers and sellers as they dispute, their noisy chattering after 
they have agreed, and the horrible shrieking of the camels at 
having their noses pulled, for the purpose of making them 
show their agility in kneeling and rising. In order to test the 
strength of the camel, and the burden it is capable of bearing, 
they make it kneel, and then pile one thing after another 
upon its back, causing it to rise under each addition, until it 
can rise no longer. They sometimes use the following ex- 
pedient: while the camel is kneeling, a man gets upon its hind 
heels and holds on by the long hair of its hump; if the camel 
can rise then, it is considered an animal of superior power. 
The trade in camels is entirely conducted by proxy: the 
seller and the buyer never settle the matter between them- 
selves. They select indifferent persons to sell their goods, 
who propose, discuss, and fix the price; the one looking to 
the interests of the seller, the other to those of the purchaser. 
These “ sale-speakers ” exercise no other trade; they go 
from market to market to promote business, as they say. They 
have generally a great knowledge of cattle, have much flu- 
ency of tongue, and are, above all, endowed with a knavery 
beyond all shame. They dispute, by turns furiously and argu- 
mentatively, as to the merits and defects of the animal; but 
as soon as it comes to a question of price, the tongue is laid 
aside as a medium, and the conversation proceeds altogether 
in signs. They seize each other by the wrist, and beneath the 
long, wide sleeve of their jackets indicate with their fingers 
the progress of the bargain. After the affair is concluded, they 
partake of the dinner, which is always given by the purchaser, 


112 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


and then receive a certain number of sapeks, according to the 
custom of different places. 


Domestic Lamas. Wandering Lamas. Lamas in Community. 


The lamas who flock from all the districts of Tartary 
to the lamaseries of the Blue Town rarely remain there per- 
manently. After taking their degrees, as it were, in these 


VAGABOND LAMAS. 


quasi-universities, they return, one class of them, to their 
own countries, where they either settle in the small lama- 
series, wherein they can be more independent, or live at 
home with their families, retaining of their order little more 
than its red and yellow habit. 

Another class consists of those lamas who live neither 
in lamaseries nor at home with their families, but spend 
their time vagabondizing about like birds of passage, travel- 
ling all over their own and the adjacent countries and sub- 
sisting upon the rude hospitality which in lamasery and in 


CLASSES OF LAMAS HES 


tent they are sure to receive throughout their wandering 
way. Lamasery or tent they enter without ceremony, seat 
themselves, and, while the tea is preparing for their refresh- 
ment, give their hosts an account of the places they have 
visited in their rambles. If they think fit to sleep where they 
are, they stretch themselves on the floor and repose until 
the morning. After breakfast they stand at the entrance of 
the tent and watch the clouds for a while and see whence the 
wind blows; then they take their way, no matter whither, by 
this path or that, east or west, north or south, as their fancy 
or a smoother turf suggests, and lounge tranquilly on, sure 
at least, if no other shelter presents itself by and by, of the 
shelter of the cover, as they express it, of that great tent the 
world; and sure, moreover, having no destination before 
them, never to lose their way. 

The wandering lamas visit all the countries readily ac- 
cessible to them — China, Manchuria, the Khalkhas, the 
various kingdoms of southern Mongolia, the Ourianghai, 
the Koukou-Noor, the northern and southern slopes of the 
Celestial Mountains, Thibet, India, and sometimes even 
Turkestan. There is no stream which they have not crossed, 
no mountains they have not climbed, no Grand Lama before 
whom they have not prostrated themselves, no people with 
whom they have not associated and whose customs and lan- 
guage are unknown to them. Travelling without any end in 
view, the places they reach are always those they sought. 

_ The lamas living in community are those who compose 
the third class. A lamasery is a collection of small houses 
built around one or more Buddhic temples. These dwellings 
are more or less large and beautiful, according to the means 
of the proprietor. The lamas who live thus in community 
are generally more regular than the others; they pay more 
attention to prayer and study. They are allowed to keep a 
few animals: some cows to afford them milk and butter, the 


II4 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


principal materials of their daily food; horses; and some 
sheep to be killed on festivals. 


China Disturbed by the Mongol Awakening. 


It is said that the policy of the Manchu dynasty is to 
increase the number of lamas in Tartary; the Chinese man- 
darins so assured us, and the thing seems probable enough. 
It is certain that the government of Peking, whilst it leaves 
to poverty and want the Chinese bonzes, honours and fav- 
ours lamaism in a special degree. The secret intention of the 
government in augmenting the number of the lamas, who 
are bound to celibacy, is to arrest by this means the progress 
of.the population in Tartary. The recollection of the former 
power of the Mongols ever fills its mind; it l:nows that they 
were formerly masters of the empire — and in the fear of a 
new invasion it seeks to enfeeble them by all the means in 
its power. Yet, although Mongolia is scantily peopled in 
comparison with its immense extent, it could at a day’s notice 
send forth a formidable‘army. A high lama, the Guison- 
Tamba, for instance, would have but to raise his finger, and 
all the Mongols, from the frontiers of Siberia to the ex- 
tremities of Thibet, rising as one man, would precipitate 
themselves like a torrent wherever their sainted leader 
might direct them. The profound peace which they have 
enjoyed for more than two centuries might seem to have 
necessarily enervated their warlike character; nevertheless, 
you may still observe that they have not altogether lost 
their taste for warlike adventures. The great campaigns of 
Jenghiz Khan, who led them to the conquest of the world, 
have not escaped their memory during the long period of 
leisure of their nomadic life; they love to talk of them and 
to feed their imagination with vague projects of invasion. 


ES BoE ANSE ONSET NST IONS 
SC IG Ie GONG ONG Dee Oz 


Cra PERV 


WE quitted the Blue Town on the fourth day of the ninth 
moon. We had already been travelling more than a month. 
It was with the utmost difficulty that our little caravan could 
get out of the town. The streets were encumbered with men, 
cars, animals, stalls in which the traders displayed their 
goods; we could only advance step by step, and at times we 
were obliged to come to a halt and wait for some minutes 
until the way became a little cleared. It was near noon before 
we reached the last houses of the town, outside the western 
gate. There, upon a level road, our camels were at length 
able to proceed at their ease in all the fullness of their long 
step. A chain of rugged rocks rising on our right sheltered 
us so completely from the north wind that we did not at 
all feel the rigour of the weather. The country through 
which we were now travelling was still a portion of Western 
Toumet. We observed in all directions the same indications 
of prosperity and comfort which had so much gratified us 
east of the town. Everywhere around, substantial villages 
presented proofs of successful agriculture and trade. Al- 
though we could not set up our tent in the cultivated fields 
by which we were now surrounded, yet, so far as circum- 
stances permitted, we adhered to our Tartar habits. Instead 
of entering an inn to take our morning meal, we seated our- 
selves under a rock or tree and there breakfasted upon some 
rolls fried in oil, of which we had bought a supply at the 
Blue Town. The passers-by laughed at this rustic proceeding, 
but they were not surprised at it. Tartars, unused to the man- 
ners of civilized nations, are entitled to take their repast by 
the road-side even in places where inns abound. 


116 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


During the day this mode of travelling was pleasant 
and convenient enough, but, as it would not have been pru- 
dent to remain out all night, at sunset we sought an inn: the 
preservation of our animals of itself sufficed to render this 
proceeding necessary. There was nothing for them to eat on 
the way-side, and had we not resorted in the evening to places 
where we could purchase forage for them, they would, of 
course, have speedily died. 

On the second evening after our departure from Blue 
Town we encountered at an inn a very singular personage. 
We had just tied our animals to a manger under a shed in 
the great court when a traveller made his appearance, lead- 

ing by a halter a lean, raw-boned horse. The traveller was 
short, but then his rotundity was prodigious. He wore on his 
head a great straw hat, the flapping brim of which rested on 
his shoulders; a long sabre suspended from his girdle pre- 
sented an amusing contrast with the peaceful joyousness of 
his physiognomy. “ Superintendent of the soup-kettle,” cried 
he, as he entered, “is there room for me in your tavern? ” 
“‘T have but one travellers’ room,” answered the innkeeper, 
“and three Mongols who have just come occupy it; you can 
ask them if they will make room for you.” The traveller 
waddled towards us. “‘ Peace and happiness unto you, Sirs 
Lamas; do you need the whole of your room, or can you ac- 
commodate me? ” “ Why not? We are all travellers and 
should serve one another.” “ Words of excellence! You are 
Tartars; I am Chinese, yet, comprehending the claims of hos- 
pitality, you act upon the truth that all men are brothers.” 
Hereupon, fastening his horse to a manger, he joined us, and, 
having deposited his travelling-bag upon the kang, stretched 
himself at full length, with the air of a man greatly fatigued. 
“Whither are you bound? ” asked we; “‘are you going to buy 
up salt or ketchup for some Chinese company? ” “No; I 
represent a great commercial house at Peking, and I am col- 


A TARTAR—EATER 117 


lecting some debts from the Tartars. Where are you going? ” 
“We shall today pass the Yellow River to Tchagan-Kouren, 
and then journey westward through the country of the 
Ortous.” “ You are not Mongols, apparently? ” “No; we 
are from the West.” “ Well, it seems we are both of one 
fade. you, like myself, are [artar-eaters.” “ Tartar-eaters! 
What do you mean? ” “ Why, we eat the Tartars. You eat 
them by prayers; I by commerce. And why not? The Mon- 
gols are poor simpletons, and we may as well get their money 
as anybody else.” “ You are mistaken. Since we entered Tar- 
tary, we have spent a great deal, but we have never taken a 
single sapek from the Tartars.” “Oh, nonsense! ” “ What! 
do you suppose our camels and our baggage came to us from 
the Mongols? ” “ Why, I thought you came here to recite 
your prayers.” We entered into some explanation of the 
difference between our principles and those of the lamas, for 
whom the traveller had mistaken us, and he was altogether 
amazed at our disinterestedness. “ Things are quite the other 
way here,” said he. “ You won’t get a lama to say prayers for 
nothing; and certainly, as for me, I should never set foot in 
Tartary but for the sake of money.” “ But how is it you 
manage to make such good meals of the Tartars? ” “ Oh, we 
devour them; we pick them clean. You’ve observed the silly 
race, no doubt; whatever they see when they come into our 
towns they want, and when we know who they are, and where 
we can find them, we let them have goods upon credit, of 
course at a considerable advance upon the price, and upon 
interest at thirty or forty per cent, which is quite right and 
necessary. In China the Emperor’s laws do not allow this; it 
is only done with the Tartars. Well, they don’t pay the 
money, and the interest goes on until there is a good sum 
owing worth the coming for. When we come for it, they’ve 
no money, so we merely take all the cattle and sheep and 
horses we can, get hold of for the interest, and leave the 


II8 ; TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


capital debt and future interest to be paid next time, and so 
it goes on from one generation to another. Oh! a Tartar debt 
is acomplete gold mine.” 

Day had not broken when the Yao-Tchang-Ti (exactor 
of debts) was on foot. “ Sirs Lamas,” said he, “ I am going 
to saddle my horse and proceed on.my way — I propose to 
travel today with you.” “Tis a singular mode of travelling 
with people, to start before they’re up,” said we. “ Oh, your 
camels go faster than my horse; you’ll soon overtake me, and 
we shall enter Tchagan-Kouren (White Enclosure) to- 
gether.”? He rode off, and at day-break we followed him. 


Loss of Arsalan. 


This was a black day with us, for in it we had to mourn 
a loss. After travelling several hours we perceived that Ar- 
salan was not with the caravan. We halted, and Samdad- 
chiemba, mounted on his little mule, turned back in search of 
the dog. He went through several villages which we had 
passed in the course of the morning, but his search was fruit- 
less; he returned without having either seen or heard of 
Arsalan. “‘ The dog was Chinese,” said Samdadchiemba; “ he 
was not used to a nomadic life, and getting tired of wandering 
about over the desert, he has taken service in the cultivated 
district. What is to be done? Shall we wait for him? ” “ No, 
it is late, and we are far from White Enclosure.” “ Well, if 
there is no dog, there is no dog, and we must do without 
him.” This sentimental effusion of Samdadchiemba gravely 
delivered, we proceeded on our way. 

At first the loss of Arsalan grieved us somewhat. We 
were accustomed to see him running to and fro in the prairie, 
rolling in the long grass, chasing the grey squirrels, and scar- 
ing the eagles from their seat on the plain. His incessant evo- 
lutions served to break the monotony of the country through 
which we were passing, and to abridge, in some degree, the 


AN IMMENSE TURKISH CARAVAN I1g 


tedious length of the way. His office of porter gave him espe- 
cial title to our regret. Yet, after the first impulses of sor- 
row, reflection told us that the loss was not altogether so seri- 
ous as it had at first appeared. Each day’s experience of the 
nomadic life had served more and more to dispel our original 
apprehension of robbers. Moreover, Arsalan, under any cir- 
cumstances, would have been a very ineffective guard; for 
his incessant galloping about during the day sent him at night 
into a sleep which nothing could disturb. This was so much 
the case that every morning, make what noise we might in 
taking down our tent, loading the camels, and so on, there 
would Arsalan remain, stretched on the grass, sleeping a 
leaden sleep; and when the caravan was about to start, we 
had always to arouse him with a sound kick or two. Upon one 
occasion a strange dog made his way into our tent without the 
smallest opposition on the part of Arsalan, and had full time 
to devour our mess of oatmeal and a candle, the wick of 
which he left contumeliously on the outside of the tent. A 
consideration of economy completed our restoration to tran- 
quillity of mind: each day we had had to provide Arsalan 
with a ration of meal, at least quite equal in quantity to that 
which each of us consumed; and we were not rich enough to 
have constantly seated at our table a guest with such excel- 
lent appetite, and whose services were wholly inadequate to 
compensate for the expense he occasioned. 


Encounter with an Immense Turkish Caravan. 


We had been informed that we should reach White En- 
closure the same day, but the sun had set and as yet we saw 
no signs of the town before us. By and by what seemed clouds 
of dust made their appearance in the distance, approaching 
us. By degrees they developed themselves in the form of 
camels, laden with western merchandise for sale in Peking. 
When we met the first camel-driver, we asked him how far 


120 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


meme wine ee 


it was from White Enclosure. “ You 
see here,” said he with a grin, “ one end 


of our caravan; the other extremity is 
still within the town.” “ Thanks,” 
cried we; “in that case we shall soon 
be there.” “ Well, you’ve not more 
\ than fifteen lis to go.” “ Fifteen lis! 


: Poa q - . < 7 Presa 
yp OP Mae ee ae “oe a V-~ 2, - 
- spp otectuces ne spores “Win, 


AN IMMENSE TURKISH CARAVAN TOT 


why you’ve just told us that the other end of your caravan is 
still in the town.” “ So it is, but our caravan consists of at 
least ten thousand camels.” “If that be the case,’’ said we, 
“‘there is no time to be lost: a good journey to you, and 
peace,” and on we went. 

The cameleers had stamped upon their features, almost 
blackened with the sun, a character of uncouth misanthropy. 
Enveloped from head to foot in goatskins, they were placed 
between the humps of their camels, just like bales of mer- 
chandise; they scarcely condescended to turn even their heads 
round to look at us. Five months’ journeying across the des- 
ert seemed almost to have brutified them. All the camels of 
this immense caravan wore suspended from their necks Thibe- 
tian bells, the silvery sound of which produced a musical har- 
mony which contrasted very agreeably with the sullen taciturn 
aspect of the drivers. In our progress, however, we con- 
trived to make them break silence from time to time; the 
roguish Dchiahour attracted their attention to us in a very 
marked manner. Some of the camels, more timid than others, 
took fright at the little mule, which they doubtless imagined 
to be a wild beast. In their endeavour to escape in an opposite 
direction they drew after them the camels next following 
them in the procession, so that by this operation the caravan 
assumed the form of an immense bow. This abrupt evolution 
aroused the cameleers from their sullen torpidity; they 
grumbled bitterly and directed fierce glances against us as 
they exerted themselves to restore the procession to its proper 
line. Samdadchiemba, on the contrary, shouted with laugh- 
ter; it was in vain that we told him to ride somewhat apart in 
order not to alarm the camels; he turned a deaf ear to all we 
said. The discomfiture of the procession was quite a delight- 
ful entertainment for him, and he made his little mule cara- 
cole about in the hope of an encore. 


122 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Inhospitable Inns. 


The first cameleer had not deceived us. We journeyed 
on between the apparently interminable file of the caravan 
and a chain of rugged rocks until night had absolutely set in, 
and even then we did not see the town. The last camel had 
passed on, and we seemed alone in the desert, when a man 
came riding by on a donkey. “ Elder brother,” said we, “ is 
White Enclosure still distant? ” “ No, brothers,” he replied, 
“it is just before you, there, where you see the lights. You 
have not more than five /is to go.” Five lis! It was a long 
way in the night, and upon a strange road, but we were fain 
to resign ourselves. The night grew darker and darker. There 
was no moon, ng stars even, to guide us on our way. We 
seemed advancing amid chaos and abysses. We resolved to 
alight, in the hope of seeing our way somewhat more clearly. 
The result was precisely the reverse; we would advance a 
few steps gropingly and slowly; then, all of a sudden, we 
threw back our heads in fear of dashing them against rocks 
or walls that seemed to rise from an abyss. We speedily got 
covered with perspiration and were only happy to mount our 
camels once more and rely on their clearer sight and surer 
feet. Fortunately the baggage was well secured. What mis- 
ery would it have been had that fallen off amid all this dark- 
ness, as it had frequently done before! . 

We arrived at last in Tchagan-Kouren, but the diffi- 
culty now was to find an inn. Every house was shut up, and 
there was not a living creature in the streets, except a num- 
ber of great dogs that ran barking-after us. At length, after 
wandering haphazard through several streets, we heard the 
strokes of a hammer upon an anvil. We proceeded towards 
the sound, and before long a great light, a thick smoke, and 
sparks glittering in the air announced that we had come upon 
a blacksmith’s shop. We presented ourselves at the door and 


KINDNESS OF A SHEPHERD 123 


humbly entreated our brothers the smiths to tell us where we 
should find an inn. After a few jests upon Tartars and camels 
the company assented to our request, and a boy, lighting a 
torch, came out to act as our guide to an inn. 

After we had knocked and called for a long time at the 
door of the first inn we came to, the landlord opened it and 
was inquiring who we were when, unluckily for us, one of 
our camels, worried by a dog, took it into its head to send 
forth a succession of those horrible cries for which the animal 
is remarkable. The innkeeper at once shut his door in our 
faces. At all the inns where we successively applied we were 
received in much the same manner. No sooner were the 
camels noticed than the answer was “ No room”; in point 
of fact, no innkeeper, if he can avoid it, will receive camels 
into his stables at all: their size occupies great space, and their 
appearance almost invariably creates alarm among the other 
animals; so that Chinese travellers generally make it a con- 
dition with the landlord before they enter an inn that no Tar- 
tar caravan shall be admitted. Our guide, finding all our 
efforts futile, got tired of accompanying us, wished us good- 
night, and returned to his forge. 


Kindness of an Old Mongol Shepherd. 


We were exhausted with weariness, hunger, and thirst, 
yet there seemed no remedy for the evil, when all at once we 
heard the bleating of sheep. Following the sound, we came 
to a mud enclosure, the door of which was at once opened 
upon our knocking. “ Brother,” said we, “is this an inn? ” 
“* No, it is a sheep-house. Who are you? ” “ We are travel- 
lers, who have arrived here weary and hungry; but no one 
will receive us.” As we were speaking, an old man came to 
the door, holding in his hand a lighted torch. As soon as he 
saw our camels and our costume, “ Mendou! Mendou! ” he 
exclaimed, “ Sirs Lamas, enter; there is room for your camels 


I24 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


in the court, and my house is large enough for you; you shall 
stay and rest here for several days.” We entered joyfully, 
fastened our camels to the manger, and seated ourselves 
round the hearth, where already tea was prepared for us. 
‘“ Brother,” said we to the old man, “ we need not ask whether 
it is to Mongols that we owe this hospitality.” “ Yes, Sirs 
Lamas,” said he, “ we are all Mongols here. We have for 
some time past quitted the tent, to reside here, so that we may 
better carry on our trade in sheep. Alas! we are insensibly be- 
coming Chinese! ” “ Your manner of life,” returned we, 
“ may have changed, but it is certain that your hearts have 
remained Tartar. Nowhere else in all Tchagan-Kouren has 
the door of kindness been opened to us.” 

Observing our fatigue, the head of the family unrolled 
some skins in a corner of the room, and we gladly laid our- 
selves down to repose. We should have slept on till the morn- 
ing, but Samdadchiemba aroused us to partake of the supper 
which our hosts had hospitably prepared — two large cups of 
tea, cakes baked in the ashes, and some chops of boiled mut- 
ton, arranged on a stool by way of a table. The meal seemed 
after our long fasting perfectly magnificent; we partook of 
it heartily, and then, having exchanged pinches of snuff with 
the family, resumed our slumber. 


Flood of the Yellow River. 


Next morning we communicated the plan of our journey 
to our Mongol hosts. No sooner had we mentioned that we 
intended to pass the Yellow River and thence traverse the 
country of the Ortous than the whole family burst out with 
exclamations. “ It is quite impossible,” said the old man, “ to 
cross the Yellow River. Eight days ago the river overflowed 
its banks, and the plains on both sides are completely inun- 
dated.” This intelligence filled us with the utmost consterna- 
tion. We had been quite prepared to pass the Yellow River 


THE YELLOW RIVER r25 


under circumstances of danger arising from the wretchedness 
of the ferry-boats and the difficulty of managing our camels 
in them, and we knew, of course, that the Hoang-Ho was sub- 
ject to periodical overflows; but these occur ordinarily in the 
rainy season, towards the sixth or seventh month, whereas we 
were now in the dry season, and, moreover, in a peculiarly 
dry season. 

We proceeded forthwith towards the river to investi- 
gate the matter for ourselves, and found that the Tartar had 
only told us the exact truth. The Yellow River had become, 
as it were, a vast sea, the limits of which were scarcely visible. 
Here and there you could see the higher grounds rising above 
the water, like islands, while the houses and villages looked 
as though they were floating upon the waves. We consulted 
several persons as to the course we should adopt. Some said 
that further progress was impracticable, for that, even where 
the inundation had subsided, it had left the earth so soft and 
slippery that the camels could not walk upon it, while else- 
where we should have to dread at every step some deep pool, 
in which we should inevitably be drowned. Other opinions 
were more favourable, suggesting that the boats which 
were stationed at intervals for the purpose would easily and 
cheaply convey us and our baggage in three days to the river, 
while the camels could follow us through the water, and 
that once at the riverside, the great ferry-boat would carry 
us all over the bed of the stream without any difficulty. 


Discussions. Severe Hardships. 


Our worthy Tartar host, in his hospitality, sought to 
divert us from our project, but unsuccessfully; and he even 
got rallied by Samdadchiemba for his kindness. “ It’s quite 
clear,”? said our guide, “ that you’ve become a mere Kitat 
(Chinese ), and think that a man must not set out upon a jour- 
ney unless the earth is perfectly dry and the sky perfectly 


126 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


cloudless. I have no doubt you go out to lead your sheep 
with an umbrella in one hand and a fan in the other.” It was 
ultimately arranged that we should take our departure at 
day-break next morning. 

Meantime we went out into the town to make the neces- 
sary supply of provisions. To guard against the possibility of 
being inundation-bound for several days, we bought a quan- 
tity of small loaves fried in mutton fat, and for our animals 
we procured a quantity of the most portable forage we could 
find. 

Next morning we departed full of confidence in the 
goodness of God. Our Tartar host, who insisted upon escort- 
ing us out of the town, led us to an elevation whence we could 
see in the distance a long line of thick vapour which seemed 
journeying from west to east; it marked the course of the 
Yellow River. “ Where you see that vapour,” said the old 
man, “ you will find a great dike, which serves to keep the 
river in bounds, except upon any extraordinary rise of the 
waters. That dike is now dry; when you come to it, proceed 
along it until you reach the little pagoda you see yonder, on 
your right; there you will find a boat that will convey you 
across the river. Keep that pagoda in sight, and you can’t lose 
your way.” We cordially thanked the old man for the kind- 
ness he had shown us and proceeded on our journey. 

We were soon up to the knees of the camels in a thick 
slimy compost of mud and water, covering other somewhat 
firmer mud over which the poor animals slowly slid on their 
painful way, their heads turning alternately right and left, 
their limbs trembling, and the sweat exuding from each pore. 
Every moment we expected them to fall beneath us. 

It was near noon ere we arrived at a little village, not 
more than a couple of miles from the place where we had left 
the old man. Here a few wretched people, whose rags scarce 
covered their gaunt frames, came round us and accompanied 


SEVERE HARDSHIPS 127 


us to the edge of a broad piece of water, portion of a lake, 
which they told us, and which it was quite clear, we must pass 
before we could reach the dike indicated by the Tartar. Some 
boatmen proposed to carry us over this lake to the dike. We 
asked them how many sapeks they would charge for the serv- 
ice. — “Oh, very little; next to nothing. You see, we will take 
in our boats you, and the baggage, and the mule, and the 
horse; one of our people will lead the camels through the 
lake; they are too big to come into the boat. When one comes 
to reckon on all this load, and all the trouble and fatigue, the 
price seems absolutely less than nothing.” “ True, there will 
be some trouble in the affair, no one denies it; but let us have 
a distinct understanding. How many sapeks do you ask? ” 
“* Oh, scarcely any. We are all brothers; and you, brothers, 
need all our assistance in travelling. We know that; we feel 
it in our hearts. If we could only afford it, we should have 
pleasure in carrying you over for nothing; but look at our 
clothes. We poor fellows are very poor. Our boat is all we 
have to depend upon. It is necessary that we should gain a 
livelihood by that; five is’ sail, three men, a horse, a mule, 
and luggage; but come, as you are spiritual persons, we will 
only charge you two thousand sapeks.” The price was pre- 
posterous; we made no answer. We took our animals by the 
bridle and turned back, pretending that we would not con- 
tinue our journey. Scarcely had we advanced twenty paces 
before the ferryman ran after us. “ Sirs Lamas, are not you 
going to cross the water in my boat? ” “ Why,” said we drily, 
*¢ doubtless you are too rich to take any trouble in the matter. 
If you really wanted to let your boat, would you ask two 
thousand sapeks? ” “ T'wo thousand sapeks is the price I ask; 
but what will you give? ” “ If you like to take five hundred 
sapeks, let us set out at once; it is already late.” “ Return, Sirs 
Lamas; get into the boat ”; and he caught hold, as he spoke, 
of the halters of our beasts. We considered that the price was 


128 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


at last fixed; but we had scarcely arrived on the border of the 
lake when the ferryman exclaimed to one of his comrades: 
“Come, our fortune deserts us today; we must bear much 
fatigue for little remuneration. We shall have to row five Js, 
and after all we shall have only fifteen hundred sapeks to 
divide between eight of us.” “Fifteen hundred sapeks! ” 
exclaimed we; “ you are mocking us; we will leave you ”; 
and we turned back for the second time. Some mediators, in- 
evitable persons in all Chinese matters, presented themselves 
and undertook to settle the fare. It was at length decided that 
we should pay eight hundred sapeks; the sum was enor- 
mous, but we had no other means of pursuing our way. The 
boatmen knew this and took accordingly the utmost advan- 
tage of our position. 

The embarkation was effected with extraordinary celer- 
ity, and we soon quitted the shore. Whilst we advanced by 
means of the oars on the surface of the lake, a man mounted 
on a camel and leading two others after him followed a path 
traced out by a small boat rowed by a waterman. The latter 
was obliged every now and then to sound the depth of the 
water, and the camel-driver needed to be very attentive in 
directing his course in the straight trail left by the boat, lest 
he should be swallowed up in the holes beneath the water. 
The camels advanced slowly, stretching out their long necks 
and at times leaving only their heads and the extremity of 
their humps visible above the lake. We were in continual 
alarm; for, these animals not being able to swim, there only 
needed a false step to precipitate them to the bottom. 

Thanks to the protection of God, all arrived safe at the 
dike which had been pointed out to us. The boatmen, after 
assisting us to replace in a hasty manner our baggage on the 
camels, indicated the point whither we must direct our steps. 
“‘ Do you see, to the right, that small sziao (pagoda)? A little 
from the miao, do you observe those wooden huts and those 


SEVERE HARDSHIPS 129 


black nets hanging from long poles? There you will find the 
ferry-boat to cross the river. Follow this dike, and go in 
peace.” 

After having proceeded with difficulty for half an hour, 
we reached the ferry-boat. The boatmen immediately came 
to us. “ Sirs Lamas,” said they, “ you intend, doubtless, to 
cross the Hoang-Ho, but you see this evening the thing is 
impracticable — the sun is just setting.” “ You are right; we 
will cross tomorrow at day-break; meanwhile let us settle the 
price, so that tomorrow we may lose no time in deliberation.” 
The watermen would have preferred waiting till the morrow 
to discuss this important point, expecting we should offer a 
much larger sum when just about to embark. At first their 
demands were preposterous; happily, there were two boats 
which competed together; otherwise we should have been 
ruined. The price was ultimately fixed at a thousand sapeks. 
The passage was not long, it is true, for the river had nearly 
resumed its bed; but the waters were very rapid, and, more~ 
over, the camels had to ride. The amount, enormous in itself, 
appeared, upon the whole, moderate, considering the diffi- 
culty and trouble of the passage. This business arranged, we 
considered how we should pass the night. We could not think 
of seeking an asylum in the fishermen’s cabins; even if they 
had been sufficiently large, we should have had a considerable 
objection to place our effects in the hands of these folks. We 
were sufficiently acquainted with the Chinese not to trust to 
their honesty. We looked out for a place whereon to set up 
our tent; but we could find nowhere a spot sufficiently dry: 
mud or stagnant water covered the ground in all directions. 
About a hundred yards from the shore was a small mao, or 
temple of idols; a narrow, high path led to it. We proceeded 
thither to see if we could find there a place of repose. It 
turned out as we wished. A portico, supported by three stone 
pillars, stood before the entrance door, which was secured by 


130 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


a large padlock. This portico, made of granite, was raised a 
few feet from the ground, and you ascended it by five steps. 
We determined to pass the night here. 


T he Warden of the Little Temple. An Exciting Embarkation. 


Just as we were lying down, a man approached us, hold- 
ing in one hand a small paper lantern. He opened the grating 
which led to the interior of the miao, prostrated himself 
thrice, burned incense in the censers, and lighted a small 
lamp at the feet of the idol. This personage was not a bonze. 
His hair, hanging in a tress, and his blue garments showed 
him to bea layman. When he had finished his idolatrous cere- 
monies, he came to us. “ I will leave the door open,” said he; 
“ vou’ll sleep more comfortably inside than in the portico.” 
“ Thanks,” replied we; “shut the door, however; for we 
shall do very well where we are. Why have you been burn- 
ing incense? Who is the idol of this place? ” “ It is the spirit 
of the Hoang-Ho, who inhabits this mziao. I have burned in- 
cense before him in order that our fishing may be productive 
and that our boats may float without danger.” “ The words 
you utter,” cried Samdadchiemba, insolently, “are mere ow- 
choue (stuff and nonsense). How did it happen that the other 
day, when the inundation took place, the mao was flooded, 
and your pou-sa was covered with mud? ” To this sudden 

apostrophe the pagan churchwarden made no answer, but 
took to his heels. We were much surprised at this proceed- 
ing; but the explanation came next morning. 

We stretched ourselves on our goatskins once more and 
endeavoured to sleep, but sleep came slowly and but for a 
brief period. Placed between marshes and the river, we felt 
throughout the night a piercing cold, which seemed to trans- 
fix us to the very marrow. The sky was pure and serene, and 
in the morning we saw that the marshes around were covered 
with a thick sheet of ice. We made our preparations for de- 


AN EXCITING EMBARKATION I3I 


parture, but upon collecting the various articles a handker- 
chief was missing. We remembered that we had imprudently 
hung it upon the grating at the entrance of the miao, so that 
it was half in and half out of the building. No person had 
been near the place except the man who had come to pay his 
devotions to the idol. We could, therefore, without much 
rashness, attribute the robbery to him, and this explained why 
he had made his exit so rapidly, without replying to Samdad- 
chiemba. We could easily have found the man, for he was 
one of the fishermen engaged upon the station, but it would 
have been a fruitless labour. Our only effectual course would 
have been to seize the thief in the act. 

Next morning we placed our baggage upon the camels 
and proceeded to the riverside, fully persuaded that we had 
a miserable day before us. The camels having a horror of the 
water, it is sometimes impossible to make them get into a 
boat. You may pull their noses or nearly kill them with 
blows, yet not make them advance a step; they would die 
sooner. The boat before us seemed especially to present al- 
most insurmountable obstacles. It was not flat and large, like 
those which generally serve as ferry-boats. Its sides were 
very high, so that the animals were obliged to leap over them 
at the risk and peril of breaking their legs. If you wanted to 
move a carriage into it, you had first of all to pull the vehicle 
to pieces. 

The boatmen had already taken hold of our baggage 
for the purpose of conveying it into their abominable vehicle, 
but we stopped them. “‘ Wait a moment; we must first try 
to get the camels in. If they won’t enter the boat, there 1s no 
use in placing the baggage in it.” “ Whence came your camels, 
that they can’t get into people’s boats? ” “ It matters little 
whence they came; what we tell you is that the tall white 
camel has never hitherto consented to cross any river, even in 
a flat-boat.” “ Tall camel or short, flat-boat or high boat, into 


132 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


the boat the camel shall go,” and so saying, the ferryman ran 
and fetched an immense cudgel. “ Catch hold of the string 
in the camel’s nose,” cried he to a companion. “‘ We’Il see if 
we can’t make the brute get into the boat.”” The man in the 
boat hauled at the string; the man behind beat the animal 
vehemently on the legs with his cudgel, but all to no pur- 
pose; the poor camel sent forth piercing cries and stretched 
out its long neck. The blood flowed from its nostrils, the 
sweat from every pore; but not an inch forward would the 
creature move; yet one step would have placed it in the boat, 
the sides of which were touched by its forelegs. 

We could not endure the painful spectacle. “ No more 
of this,”? we cried to the ferryman; “ it is useless to beat the 
animal. You might break its legs or kill it before it would con- 
sent to enter your boat.”? The two men at once left off, for 
they were tired, the one of pulling, the other of beating. 
What were we to do? We had almost made up our minds to 
ascend the banks of the river until we found some flat-boat, 
when the ferryman all at once jumped up, radiant with an 
idea. “ We will make another attempt,” cried he, “and if 
that fails I give the matter up. Take the string gently,” he 
added to a companion, “ and keep the camel’s feet as close as 
ever you can to the side of the boat.” Then, going back for 
some paces, he dashed forward with a spring and threw him- 
self with all his weight upon the animal’s rear. The shock, so 
violent and unexpected, occasioned the camel somewhat to 
bend its forelegs. A second shock immediately succeeded the 
first, and the animal, in order to prevent itself from falling 
into the water, had no remedy but to raise its feet and place 
them within the boat. This effected, the rest was easy. A few 
pinches of the nose and a few blows sufficed to impel the hind 
legs after the fore, and the white camel was at last in the 
boat to the extreme satisfaction of all present. The other 


QUARREL WITH A CAMEL 133 


animals were embarked after the same fashion, and we pro- 
ceeded on our watery way. 


The Waterman’s Quarrel with a Camel, Further Hardships. 


First, however, the ferryman deemed it necessary that 
the animals should kneel, so that no movement of theirs on 
the river might occasion an overturn. His proceeding to this 
effect was exceedingly comic. He first went to one camel and 
then to the other, pulling now this down, then that. When he 
approached the larger animal, the creature, remembering the 
man’s treatment, discharged in his face a quantity of the grass 
ruminating within its jaws, a compliment which the boatman 
returned by spitting in the animal’s face. And the absurdity 
was that the work made no progress. One camel was no sooner 
induced to kneel down than the other got up, and so the men 
went backwards and forwards, gradually covered by the 
angry creatures with the green substance, half masticated and 
nauseating, which each animal in turn spat against him. At 
length, when Samdadchiemba had sufficiently entertained 
himself with the scene, he went to the camels and, exercising 
his recognized authority over them, made them kneel in the 
manner desired. 

We at length floated upon the waters of the Yellow 
River; but though there were four boatmen, their united 
strength could scarcely make head against the force of the 
current. We had effected about half our voyage when a camel 
suddenly rose and shook the boat so violently that it was 
nearly upset. The boatmen, after ejaculating a tremendous 
oath, told us to look after our camels and prevent them from 
getting up, unless we wanted the whole party to be engulfed. 
The danger was indeed formidable. The camel, infirm upon 
its legs and yielding to every movement of the boat, menaced 
us with a catastrophe. Samdadchiemba, however, managed to 


134. TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


get quickly beside the animal and at once induced it to kneel, 
so that we were let off with our fright, and in due course 
reached the other side of the river. 

At the moment of disembarkation the horse, impatient 
to be once more on land, leaped out of the boat, but striking, 
on its way, against the anchor, fell on its side in the mud. The 
ground not being yet dry, we were fain to take off our shoes 
and to carry the baggage on our shoulders to an adjacent 
eminence; there we asked the boatmen if we should be any 
great length of time in traversing the marsh and mud that 
lay stretched out before us. The chief boatman raised his 
head and, after looking for a while towards the sun, said: 
“It will soon be noon; by the evening you will reach the 
banks of the Little River; tomorrow you will find the ground 
dry.”’ It was under these melancholy auspices that we pro- 
ceeded upon our journey, through one of the most detestable 
districts to be found in the whole world, 

We had been told in what direction we were to proceed; 
but the inundation had obliterated every trace of path and 
even of road, and we could only regulate our course by the 
nature of the ground, keeping as clear as we could of the 
deeper quagmires, sometimes making a long circuit in order 
to reach what seemed firmer ground and then, finding the 
supposed solid turf to be nothing more than a piece of water, 
green with stagnant matter and aquatic plants, having to turn 
back and, as it were, grope our way in another direction, fear- 
ful at every step of being plunged into some gulf of liquid 
mud. : 

By and by our animals, alarmed and wearied, could 
hardly proceed, and we were compelled to beat them severely 
and to exhaust our voices with bawling at them before they 
would move at all. The tall grass and plants of the marshes 
twisted about their legs, and it was only by leaps and at the 
risk of throwing off both baggage and riders that they could 


FURTHER HARDSHIPS 135 


extricate themselves. Thrice did the youngest camel lose its 
balance and fall; but on each occasion the spot on which it 
fell was providentially dry; had it stumbled in the mud, it 
would inevitably have been stifled. 

On our way we met three Chinese travellers, who, by 
the aid of long staves, were making their laborious way 
through the marshes, carrying their shoes and clothes over 
their shoulders. We asked them in what direction we were 
likely to find a better road. “ You would have been wiser,” 
said they, “had you remained at Tchagan-Kouren; foot- 
passengers can scarcely make their way through these 
marshes: how do you suppose you can get on with your cam- 
els? ” and with this consolatory assurance they quitted us, 
giving us a look of compassion, certain as they were that we 
should never get through the mud. 

The sun was just setting when we perceived a Mongol 
habitation; we made our way direct to it, without heeding the 
difficulties of the road. In fact, experience had already taught 
us that selection was quite out of the question and that one 
way was as good as another in this universal slough. Making 
circuits merely lengthened the journey. The Tartars were 
frightened at our appearance, covered as we were with mud 
and perspiration; they immediately gave us some tea and 
generously offered us the hospitality of their dwelling. The 
small mud house in which they lived, though built upon an 
eminence, had been half carried away by the inundation. We 
could not conceive what had induced them to fix their abode 
in this horrible district, but they told us that they were em- 
ployed to tend the herds belonging to some Chinese of 
Tchagan-Kouren. After resting for a while we requested in- 
formation as to the best route to pursue, and we were told 
that the river was only five Jis off, that its banks were dry, and 
that we should find there boats to carry us to the other side. 
“¢ When you have crossed the Paga-Gol (Little River),” said 


136 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


our hosts, “ you may proceed in peace; you will meet with no 
more water to interrupt you.” We thanked these good Tar- 
tars for their kindness and resumed our journey. 

After half an hour’s march we discovered before us a 
large extent of water, studded with fishing-vessels. The title 
Little River may, for anything we know, be appropriate 
enough under ordinary circumstances, but at the time of our 
visit the Paga-Gol was a broad sea. We pitched our tent on 
the bank, which, by reason of its elevation, was perfectly dry, 
and the remarkable excellence of the pasturage determined us 
upon remaining in this place several days, in order to give 
rest to our animals, which since their departure from 
Tchagan-Kouren had undergone enormous fatigue; we our- 
selves, too, felt the necessity of some relaxation after the 
sufferings which these horrible marshes had inflicted upon us. 


WATERFOWL AND BIRDS OF PASSAGE. 


Catia ER VI 


Upon taking possession of our post our first business was to 
excavate a ditch round the tent, in order that, should rain oc- 
cur, the water might be carried into a pond below. The ex- 
cavated earth served to make a mound round the tent; and, 
within, the pack-saddles and furniture of the camels formed 
very comfortable bedsteads for us. Having made our new 
habitation as neat as possible, the next business was to make 
our persons neat also. 

We had now been travelling for nearly six weeks and still 
wore the same clothing we had assumed on our departure. 
The incessant pricklings with which we were harassed suf- 
ficiently indicated that our attire was peopled with the filthy 
vermin to which the Chinese and Tartars are familiarly ac- 
customed, but which with Europeans are objects of horror 
and disgust — lice, which of all our miseries on our long 
journey have been the greatest. Hunger and thirst, fierce 


138 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


winds and piercing cold, wild beasts, robbers, avalanches, 
menaced death and actual discomfort, all had been as nothing 
compared with the incessant misery occasioned by these 
dreadful vermin. 

Before quitting Tchagan-Kouren we had bought in a 
chemist’s shop a few sapeks’ worth of mercury. We now 
made with it a prompt and specific remedy against the lice. 
We had formerly got this receipt from some Chinese, and, as 
it may be useful to others, we think it right to describe it here. 
You take half an ounce of mercury, which you mix with old 
tea-leaves, previously reduced to paste by mastication. To 
render this softer you generally add saliva; water would not 
have the same effect. You must afterwards bruise and stir it 
awhile, so that the mercury may be divided into little balls as 
fine as dust. You infuse this composition into a string of cot- 
ton, loosely twisted, which you hang round the neck; the lice 
are sure to bite at the bait, and they thereupon as surely swell, 
become red, and die forthwith. In China and in Tartary you 
have to renew this sanitary necklace once a month, for other- 
wise in these dirty countries you could not possibly keep clear 
from vermin, which swarm in every Chinese house and in 
every Mongol tent. 

The Tartars are acquainted with the cheap and efficacious 
anti-louse mixture I have described, but they make no use of 
it. Accustomed from their infancy to live amid vermin, they 
at last take no heed whatever of them, except, indeed, when 
the number becomes so excessive as to involve the danger of 
their being absolutely eaten up. Upon such a juncture they 
strip off their clothes and have a grand battue, all the mem- 
bers of the family and any friends who may have dropped in 
taking part in the sport. Even lamas who may be present 
share in the hunt, with this distinction, that they do not kill 
the game, but merely catch it and throw it away; the reason 
being that, according to the doctrine of metempsychosis, to 


PLEASURES OF REST 139 


kill any living béing whatever is to incur the danger of 
homicide, since the smallest insect before you may be the 
transmigration of a man. Such is the general opinion; but we 
have met with lamas whose views on this subject were more 
enlightened. They admitted that persons belonging to the 
sacerdotal class should abstain from killing animals; but not, 
said they, in fear of. committing a murder by killing a man 
transmigrated into an animal, but because to kill is essentially 
antagonistic with the gentleness which should characterize a 
man of prayer, who is ever in communication with the Deity. 

There are some lamas who carry this scruple to a point 
approaching the puerile, so that as they ride along, they are 
constantly manceuvring their horses in and out, here and 
there, in order to avoid trampling upon some insect or other 
that presents itself in their path. Yet, say they, the holiest 
among them occasion inadvertently the death every day of a 
great many living creatures. It is to expiate these involuntary 
murders that they undergo fasting and penitence, that they 
recite certain prayers, and that they make prostrations. 

We, who had no such scruples and whose conscience 
stood upon a solid basis as to the transmigration of souls, con- 
cocted as effectively as possible our anti-louse preparation, 
doubling the dose of mercury in our anxiety to kill the great- 
est practicable number of the vermin that had been so long 
tormenting us by day and by night. 


The Pleasures of Rest. Washing. A Fuel-Hunt. 


It would have been to little purpose merely to kill the 
present vermin; it was necessary to withhold any sort of shel- 
ter or encouragement from their too probable successors, and 
the first point, with this view, was to wash all our undercloth- 
ing, which for some time past had not been subjected to any 
such operation. For nearly two months since our departure we 
had been wholly dependent in all respects upon ourselves, 


140 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


and this necessity had compelled us to learn a little of various 
professions with which we had been previously unacquainted; 
becoming our own tailors and shoe-menders, for example, 
when clothes or shoes required repairs. The course of no- 
madic life now practically introduced us also to the occupa- 
tion of washermen. After boiling some ashes and soaking our 
linen in the lye we next proceeded to wash it in an adjacent 
pond. One great stone on which to place the linen when 
washed and another wherewith to beat it while washing were 
our only implements of trade; but we got on very well, for 
the softness of the pond water gave every facility for cleans- 
ing the articles. Before long we had the delight of seeing our 
linen once more clean; and when, having dried it on the 
grass, we folded it and took it home to our tent, we were 
quite radiant with satisfaction. 

The quiet and ease which we enjoyed in this encamp- 
ment rapidly remedied the fatigue we had undergone in the 
marshes. The weather was magnificent, all that we could 
have possibly desired. By day, a gentle, soothing heat; by 
night, a sky pure and serene; plenty of fuel; excellent and 
abundant pasturage; nitrous water, which our camels de- 
lighted in; in a word, everything to renovate the health and 
revive the spirits. Our rule of daily life may appear odd 
enough to some, and perhaps not altogether in harmony 
with the regulations of monastic houses, but it was in exact 
adaptation to the circumstances and wants of our little com- 
munity. 

Every morning, with the first dawn, before the earliest 
rays of the sun struck upon our tent, we rose spontaneously, 
requiring neither call-bell nor valet to rouse us. Our brief 
toilet made, we rolled up our goatskins and placed them in a 
corner; then we swept out the tent and put the cooking uten- 
sils in order, for we were desirous of having everything about 
us as clean and comfortable as possible. All things go by com- 


nee JEL-HOUNT I4I 


parison in this world. The interior of our tent, which would 
have made a European laugh, filled with admiration the Tar- 
tars who from time to time paid us a visit. The cleanliness of 
our wooden cups, our kettle always well polished, our clothes 
not altogether as yet encrusted with grease — all this con- 
trasted favourably with the dirt and disorder of Tartar 
habitations. 

Having arranged our apartment, we said prayers to- 
gether and then dispersed each apart in the desert to engage 
in meditation upon some pious thought. The exercise which 
followed these meditations was, it must be admitted, far 
from mystic in its character; but it was necessary and not 
wholly without entertainment in its course. Each of us hung a 
bag from his shoulders and went in different directions to 
seek argols for fuel. Those who have never led a nomadic 
life will, of course, find it difficult to understand how this 
occupation could possibly develop any enjoyment. Yet when 
one is lucky enough to find, half concealed among the grass, 
an argol recommendable for its size and dryness, there comes 
over the heart a gentle joy, one of those sudden emotions 
which create a transient happiness. The pleasure at finding a 
fine argol is cognate with that which the hunter feels when he 
discovers the track of game; with which the boy regards, his 
eyes sparkling, the linnet’s nest he has long sought; with 
which the fisherman sees quivering at the end of his line a 
large fish; nay, if we may compare small things with great, 
one might even compare this pleasure with the enthusiasm of 
a Leverrier when he has discovered a new planet. 

Our sack once filled with argols, we returned and piled 
the contents with pride at the entrance of the tent; then we 
struck a light and set the fire in movement, and, while the tea 
was boiling in the pot, pounded the meal and put some cakes 
to bake in the ashes. The repast, it is observable, was simple 
and modest, but it was always extremely delicious, first be- 


142 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


cause we had prepared it ourselves, and secondly because our 
appetites provided most efficient seasoning. 


Nomadic Birds. A Model Ménage. The Dragon’s Foot. 


After breakfast, while Samdadchiemba was collecting 
round the tent the animals, which had dispersed in search of 
pasturage, we recited a portion of our breviary. Towards 
noon we indulged in a brief repose, a few minutes of gentle 
but sound sleep, never interrupted by nightmare or by un- 
pleasant dreams. This repose was all the more necessary that 
the evenings were prolonged far into the night. It was al- 
ways with difficulty that we tore ourselves from our walks 
by moonlight on the banks of the river. During the day all 
was silent and tranquil around us; but so soon as the shades 
of night began to overspread the desert, the scene became 
animated and noisy. Aquatic birds, arriving in immense 
flocks, diffused themselves over the various pools, and soon 
thousands of shrill cries filled the air with wild harmony. The 
cries of anger, the accents of passion, proceeding from those 
myriads of migratory birds, as they disputed among them- 
selves possession of the tufts of marsh grass in which they 
desired to pass the night, gave one quite the idea of a numer- 
ous people in all the fury of civil war, fighting and clamour- 
ing, in agitation and violence, for some supposed advantage, 
brief as this Eastern night. 

Tartary is populated with nomadic birds. Look up when 
you may, you will see them floating high in air, the vast bat- 
talions forming, in their systematically capricious flight, a 
thousand fantastic outlines, dissipating as soon as formed, 
forming again as soon as dissipated, like the creations of a 
kaleidoscope. Oh, how exactly are these migrant birds in their 
place amid the deserts of Tartary, where man himself is 
never fixed in one spot, but is constantly on the move! It was 
very pleasant to listen to the distant hum of these winged 
bands, wandering about like ourselves. As we reflected upon 


NOMADIC BIRDS 143 


their long peregrinations and glanced in thought over the 
countries which their rapid flight must have comprehended, 
the recollection of our native land came vividly before us. 
“Who knows,” we would say to each other, “ who knows but 
that among these birds there are some who have traversed — 
who have, perhaps, alighted for a while in our dear France: 
who have sought transient repose and refreshment in the 
plains of Languedoc, or on the heights of the Jura? After 
visiting our own country they have doubtless pursued their 
route towards the north of Europe, and have come hither 
through the snows of Siberia and of Upper Tartary. Oh, if 
these birds could understand our words, or if we could speak 
their tongue, how many questions should we not put to 
them! ” Alas! we did not then know that for two years more 
we should be deprived of all communication with our native 
land. 

The migratory birds which visit Tartary are for the 
most part known in Europe; such as wildgeese, wild- 
ducks, teal, storks, bustards, and so on. There is one bird 
which may deserve particular mention: the Youen-Yang, an 
aquatic bird frequenting ponds and marshes; it is of the size 
and form of the wild-duck, but its beak, instead of being flat, 
is round, its red head is sprinkled with white, its tail is black, 
and the rest of its plumage a fine purple; its cry is exceedingly 
loud and mournful, not the song of a bird, but a sort of clear, 
prolonged sigh, resembling the plaintive tones of a man un- 
der suffering. These birds always go in pairs; they frequent, 
in an especial manner, desert and marshy places. You see 
them incessantly skimming over the surface of the waters 
without the couple ever separating from each other; if one 
flies away, the other immediately follows; and that which © 
dies first does not leave its companion long in widowhood, for 
it is soon consumed by sorrow and lonesomeness. Youen is 
the name of the male, Yang that of the female: Youen- Yang 
their common denomination. 


144 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


We remarked in Tartary another species of migratory 
bird, which offers various peculiarities singular in themselves 
and perhaps unknown to naturalists. It is about the size of a 
quail; its eyes, of a brilliant black, are encircled by a magnif- 
icent ring of azure; its body is of ash colour, speckled with 
black; its legs, instead of feathers, are covered with a sort of 
long, rough hair, like that of the musk-deer; its feet are 
totally different from those of any other bird; they exactly 
resemble the paws of the green lizard, and are covered with 
scales so hard as to resist the edge of the sharpest knife. This 
singular creature, therefore, partakes at once of the bird, of 
the quadruped, and of the reptile. The Chinese call it Loung- 
Kio (Dragon’s Foot). These birds make their periodical ap- 
pearance in vast numbers from the north, especially after a 
great fall of snow. They fly with astonishing swiftness, and 
the movement of their wings makes a loud, rattling noise, 
like that of heavy hail. 

While we had the charge, in northern Mongolia, of the 
little Christendom of the Valley of Black Waters, one of 
our Christians, a skilful huntsman, brought us two of these 
birds which he had caught alive. They were excessively fe- 
rocious; no sooner was your hand extended to touch them 
than the hair on their legs bristled; and if you had the temer- 
ity to stroke them, you instantly were assailed with vehement 
strokes of the bill. The nature of these Dragon’s Feet was evi- 
dently so wild as to preclude the possibility of preserving 
them alive: they would touch nothing we offered them. Per- 
ceiving, therefore, that they must soon die of starvation, we 
determined to kill and eat them; their flesh was of agreeable, 
pheasant-like savour, but terribly tough. 


Adventures with a Fisherman. 


The Mongols are disinclined to fishing, and accordingly 
the highly productive lakes and ponds which one meets with 


ADVENTURE WITH A FISHERMAN 145 


so frequently in Tartary have become the property of Chinese 
speculators, who, with the characteristic knavery of their 
nation, having first obtained from the Tartar kings permis- 
sion to fish in their states, have gradually converted this 
toleration into a monopoly most rigorously enforced. The 
Paga-Gol (Little River), near which we were now en- 
camped, has several Chinese fishing stations upon its banks. 

During the first night of our encampment in this lo- 
cality we were kept awake by a strange noise, constantly re- 
curring in the distance: as it seemed to us, the muffled and 
irregular roll of drums; with day-break the noise continued, 
but more intermittent and less loud; it apparently came from 
the water. We went out and proceeded towards the bank of 
the lake, where a fisherman, who was boiling his tea in a little 
kettle, supported by three stones, explained the mystery; he 
told us that during the night all the fishermen, seated in their 
barks, keep moving over the water in all directions, beating 
wooden drums for the purpose of alarming the fish and 
driving them towards the places where the nets are spread. 
The poor man whom we interrogated had himself passed the 
whole night in this painful toil. His red, swollen eyes and 
his drawn face clearly indicated that it was long since he had 
enjoyed adequate rest. “ Just now,” he said, “ we have a 
great deal of work upon our hands; there is no time to be 
lost 1f we wish to make any money of the business. The fish- 
ing season is very short; at the outside not more than three 
months; and a few days hence we shall be obliged to with- 
draw. The Paga-Gol will be frozen, and not a fish will be ob- 
tainable. You see, Sirs Lamas, we have no time to lose. I have 
passed all the night hunting the fish about; when I have 
drunk some tea and eaten a few spoonfuls of oatmeal, I shall 
get into my boat and visit the nets I have laid out there west- 
ward; then I shall deposit the fish I have taken in the osier 
reservoirs you see yonder; then I shall examine my nets, and 


146 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


mend them if they need mending; then I shall take a brief — 
repose, and after that, when the old grandfather (the sun) 
goes down, I shall once more cast my nets; then I shall row 
over the water, now here, now there, beating my drum, and 
so it goes on.” These details interested us, and, as our occu- 
pations at the moment were not very urgent, we asked the 
fisherman if he would allow us to accompany him when he 
went to raise his nets. ‘‘ Since personages like you,” answered 
he, ‘ do not disdain to get into my poor boat and to view my 
unskilful and disagreeable fishing, I accept the benefit you 
propose.” 

Hereupon we sat down in a corner of his rustic hearth 
to wait until he had taken his repast. The meal of the fish- 
erman was as short as the preparations for it had been hasty. 
When the tea was sufficiently boiled, he poured out a basin- 
ful of it, threw into this a handful of oatmeal, which he 
partially kneaded with his forefinger, and then, after having 
pressed it a little and rolled it into a sort of cake, he swallowed 
it without any other preparation. After he had three or four 
times repeated the same operation, the dinner was at an end. 
This manner of living had nothing in it to excite our curi- 
osity; having adopted the nomad way of living, a sufficiently 
long experience had made it familiar to us. 

We entered his small boat and proceeded to enjoy the 
pleasure of fishing. After having relished for some moments 
the delight of a quiet sail on the tranquil water, smooth and 
unbroken as glass, through troops of cormorants and wild- 
geese, which were disporting on the surface of the expanse 
and which, half running, half flying, made a free passage for 
us as we advanced, we reached the place where the nets lay. 
At intervals we saw pieces of wood floating on the water, to 
which the nets were attached, which rested at the bottom. 
When we drew them up, we saw the fish glitter as they strug- 
gled in the meshes. These fish were generally large, but the 


ADVENTURE WITH A FISHERMAN I47 


fisherman only kept the largest; those that were under half 
a pound he threw back into the water. 

After having examined a few of the nets, he stopped to 
see if the haul had been productive. Already the two wells, 
constructed at the extremities of the boat, were nearly full. 
“Sirs Lamas,” said the fisherman, “ do you eat fish? I will 
sell you some if you please.” At this proposition the two poor 


FISHING PARTY. 


French missionaries looked at each other without saying a 
word. In that look you might see that they were by no means 
averse from trying the flavour of the fish of the Yellow 
River, but that they dared not, a sufficient reason keeping 
them in suspense. “* How do you sell your fish? ” “ Not dear; 
eighty sapeks a pound.” “ Eighty sapeks! why that is dearer 
than mutton.” “ You speak the words of truth; but what 
is mutton compared with the fish of the Hoang-Ho? ” “ No 
matter; it is too dear for us. We have still far to go; our 
purse is low, we must economize.” The fisherman did not 


148 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


insist; he took his oar and directed the boat towards those nets 
which had not yet been drawn up from the water. “‘ For what 
reason,” asked we, “ do you throw back so much fish? Is it 
because the quality is inferior? ” “ Oh, no; all the fish in the 
Yellow River are excellent; these are too small, that is all.” 
“ Ah, just so; next year they will be bigger. It is a matter of 
calculation; you refrain now so that in the end you may get 
more by them.” The fisherman laughed. “ It is not that,” he 
said; “ we do not hope to recapture these fish. Every year the 
basin is filled with fresh fish, brought hither by the overflow- 
ings of the Hoang-Ho; there come great and small; we take 
the first, and the others we throw back, because they do not 
sell well. The fish here are very abundant. We are able to 
select the best. . . . Sirs Lamas, if you like to have these 
little fish, I will not throw them back.” The offer was ac- 
cepted, and the small fry, as they came, were placed in a little 
basket. 

When the fishing was over, we found ourselves posses- — 
sors of a very respectable supply of fish. Before leaving the 
boat we washed an old basket, and, having deposited our fish 
in it, we marched in triumph to the tent. “‘ Where have you 
been? ” exclaimed Samdadchiemba as soon as he saw us; 
“ the tea is now boiled, and it soon gets cold; I have boiled 
it up again; it has again got cold.” “ Pour out some of your 
tea,” answered we. “ We will not have oatmeal today, but 
some fresh fish. Place some loaves under the ashes to bake.” 
Our prolonged absence had put Samdadchiemba in an ill 
humour. His forehead was more contracted than usual, and 
his small black eyes flashed with displeasure. But when he 
beheld in the basket the fish, which were still in motion, his 
face relaxed into a smile, and his countenance insensibly grew 
more cheerful. He opened smilingly the bag of flour, the 
strings of which were never untied except on rare occasions. 
Whilst he was busily occupied with the pastry, we took some 


KINDNESS RECOMPENSED 149 


of the fish and proceeded to the shores of a lake at a short 
distance from the tent. We had scarcely got there when Sam- 
dadchiemba ran to us with all his might. He drew aside the 
four corners of the cloth which contained the fish. “ What 
are you going to do? ” said he, with an anxious air. “ We are 
going to cut open and scale this fish.” “ Oh, that is not well; 
my spiritual fathers, wait a little; you must not transgress 
thus.” “ What are you talking about? Who is committing a 
sin? ” “ Why, look at these fish; they are still moving. You 
must let them die in peace before you open them: is it not a 
sin to kill a living creature? ” “Go make your bread and let 
us alone. Are we always to be pestered with your notions of 
metempsychosis? Do you still think that men are transformed 
into beasts, and beasts into men? ” The lips of our Dchiahour 
opened for a long laugh. “ Bah! ” said he, striking his fore- 
head, “‘ what a thick head I have; I did not think of that; I 
had forgotten the doctrine,” and he returned not a little 
ashamed at having come to give us such ridiculous advice. 
The fish were fried in mutton fat, and we found them ex- 
quisite. 


Kindness Recompensed. 


During our few days’ rest we considered the means of 
crossing the Paga-Gol. A Chinese family having obtained 
from the King of the Ortous the privilege of conveying trav- 
ellers across, we were obliged to address ourselves to the mas- 
ter of the boat. He had undertaken to conduct us to the other 
side, but we had not yet agreed about the fare; he required 
upwards of a thousand sapeks. The sum appeared to us ex- 
orbitant, and we waited. 

On the third day of our halt we perceived a fisherman 
coming towards our tent, dragging himself along with great 
difficulty by the aid of a long staff. His pale and extremely 
meagre face showed that he was a man in suffering. As soon 


150 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


as he had seated himself beside our hearth, “‘ Brother,” said 
we, “it seems that your days are not happy.” “ Ah,” said he, 
“my misfortune is great, but what am I to do? I must sub- 
mit to the irrevocable laws of heaven. It is now a fortnight 
since, as I was going to visit a Mongol tent, I was bitten in 
the leg by a mad dog; there has been formed a wound which 
grows larger and mortifies day by day. They told me that 
you were from the western heaven, and I am come to you. 
The men of the western heaven, say the Tartar lamas, have 
an unlimited power. With a single word they are able to cure 
the most grievous disorders.” “ They have deceived you 
when they said we had such great powers”; and hereupon 
we took occasion to elucidate to this man the great truths of 
the faith. But he was a Chinese and, like all his nation, but 
little heedful of religious matters. Our words only glanced 
over his heart; his hurt absorbed all his thoughts. We re- 
solved to treat his case with the Kou-Kouo, or bean of St. 
Ignatius. This vegetable, of a brown or ashy colour and of a 
substance which resembles horn, extremely hard and of in- 
tolerable bitterness, is a native of the Philippine Isles. The 
manner of using the Kou-Kouo is to bruise it in cold water, to 
which it communicates its bitterness. This water, taken in- 
wardly, modifies the heat of the blood and extinguishes in- 
ternal inflammation. It is an excellent specific for all sorts of 
wounds and contusions and, enjoying a high character in the 
Chinese materia medica, is sold in all chemists’ shops. The 
veterinary doctors also apply it with great success to the in- 
ternal diseases of cattle and sheep. In the north of China we 
have often witnessed the salutary effects of the Kou-Kouo. 
We infused the powder of one of these beans in some 
cold water, with which we washed the poor man’s wound, 
and we supplied some clean linen in place of the disgustingly 
dirty rags which previously served for a bandage. When we 
had done all we could for the sufferer, we observed that he 


KINDNESS RECOMPENSED ISI 


still seemed very embarrassed in his manner. His face was 
red with blushes, he held down his eyes, and he began several 
sentences which he could not complete. “ Brother,” said we, 
*¢ you have something on your mind.” “ Holy personages, you 
see how poor I am. You have tended my wound, and you 
have given me a great mug of healing water to take; I know 
not what I can offer in exchange for all this.” “ If this be the 
subject of your uneasiness,” said we, “‘ be at once reassured. 
In doing what we could for your leg we only fulfilled a duty 
commanded by our religion. The remedies we have prepared 
we freely give you.” Our words evidently relieved the poor 
fisherman from a very grave embarrassment. He immediately 
prostrated himself before us and touched the ground thrice 
with his forehead, in token of his gratitude. Before with- 
drawing he asked us whether we intended to remain where 
we were for any length of time. We told him that we should 
gladly depart the next day, but that we had not as yet agreed 
with the ferryman as to the fare. “I have a boat,” said the 
fisherman, “and since you have tended my wound, I will en- 
deavour tomorrow to convey you over the water. If my boat 
belonged entirely to myself, I would at once undertake the 
matter; but as I have two partners, I must first get their con- 
sent. Moreover, we must procure some particulars as to our 
course; we fishermen are not acquainted with the depth of 
water at all the points of the passage. There are dangerous 
places here and there, which we must ascertain the exact na- 
ture and locality of beforehand, so that we may not incur 
some misfortune. Don’t say anything more about the matter 
to the ferry people. I will come back in the course of the eve- 
ning, and we will talk over the subject.” 

These words gave us hopes of being able to continue our 
journey without too heavy an outlay for the river passage. 
As he had promised, the fisherman returned in the evening. 
“My partners,” said he, “were not at first willing to 


152 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


undertake this job, because it would lose them a day’s fishing. 
I promised that you would give them four hundred sapeks, 
and so the affair was arranged. Tomorrow we will make in- 
quiries as to the best course to follow on the river. Next 
morning, before sunrise, fold your tent, load your camels, 
and come down to the riverside. If you see any of the ferry 
people, don’t tell them you are going to give us four hun- 
dred sapeks. As they have the sole right of carrying pas- 
sengers for hire, they might prosecute us for carrying you if 
they knew you had paid us anything.” 


Difficult Passage of the Paga-Gol. 


At the appointed hour we proceeded to the fisherman’s 
hut. In a minute the baggage was packed in the boat, and the 
two missionaries seated themselves beside it, attended by the 
boatman whose wound they had cured. It was agreed that a 
young companion of his should ride the horse across the shal- 
lows, leading the mule, while Samdadchiemba in like man- 
ner was to conduct the camels over. When all was ready, we 
started, the boat following one course, the horses and camels 
another, for the latter were obliged to make long circuits in 
order to avoid the deeper parts of the river. 

The navigation was at first very pleasant. We floated 
tranquilly over the broad surface of the waters, in a small 
skiff propelled by a single man with two light sculls. The 
pleasure of this water party amid the deserts of Mongolia 
was not, however, of long duration. The poetry of the thing, 
soon at an end, was succeeded by some very doleful prose. We 
were advancing gently over the smooth water, vaguely lis- 
tening to the measured dips of the sculls, when, all of a sud- 
den, we were aroused by a clamour behind, of which the 
shrieks of the camels constituted a prominent share. We 
stopped, and, looking round, perceived that horse, mule, and 
camels were struggling in the water without making any on- 


THE PAGA—GOL 153 


ward progress. In the general confusion we distinguished 
Samdadchiemba flourishing his arms as if to recall us. Our 
boatman was not at all disposed to accept the invitation, re- 
luctant as he was to quit the easy current he had found; but 
as we insisted, he turned back and rowed towards the other 
party. 

Samdadchiemba was purple with rage. As soon as we 
came up to him, he furiously assailed the boatman with in- 
vectives. “ Did you want to drown us,” bawled he, “ that you 
gave us for a guide a fellow that doesn’t know a yard of the 
way? Here are we amid gulfs of which none of us know the 
depth or extent.” The animals, in fact, would neither ad- 
vance nor fecede; beat them as you might, there they re- 
mained immovable. The boatman hurled maledictions at his 
partner. “ If you did not know the way, what did you come 
for? The only thing to be done now is to go back to the hut 
and tell your cousin to get on the horse; he’ll be a better 
guide than you.” 

To return for a better guide was clearly the safest course, 
but this was no easy matter; the animals had got so frightened 
at finding themselves surrounded with such a body of water 
that they would not stir. The young guide was at his wits’ 
end; it was in vain that he beat the horse and pulled the bri- 
dle this way and that; the horse struggled and splashed up 
the water, and that was all; not an inch would it move, one 
way or the other. The young man, no better horseman than 
guide, at last lost his balance and fell into the water; he dis- 
appeared for a moment, to our increased consternation, and 
then rose at a little distance, just where he could stand and 
have his head above water. Samdadchiemba grew furious, 
but at last, seeing no other alternative, he quietly took off 
all his clothes as he sat on the camel, threw them into the boat, 
and slipped down the camel’s side into the stream. “ Take 
that man into your boat,” cried he to our boatman; “ I?ll 


154 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


have nothing more to do with him. I’ll go back and find some- 
one who can guide us properly.” He then made his way back 
through the water, which sometimes rose up to his neck, lead- 
ing the animals, whose confidence returned when they saw 
themselves preceded by the Dchiahour. | 

Our hearts were filled with gratitude at observing the 
devotion and courage of this young neophyte, who for our 
sakes had not hesitated to plunge into the water, which at 
that season was bitterly cold. We anxiously followed him 
with our eyes until we saw him close upon the shore. “ You 
may now,” said the boatman, “ be quite at your ease; he will 
find in my hut a man who will guide him so as to avoid the 
least danger.” 

We proceeded on our way, but the navigation was by no 
means so agreeable as before; the boatman could not find 
again the clear path on the waters which he was pursuing 
when we returned to aid Samdadchiemba, and, hampered 
with aquatic plants, the vessel made but very slow progress. 
We tried to mend matters by turning to the right and then 
to the left, but the difficulty only grew greater; the water was 
so shallow that the boat in its laboured advance turned up 
the mud. We were compelled ourselves to take the sculls, 
while the boatman, getting into the water and passing across 
his shoulders a rope, the other end of which was tied to the 
boat, tried to pull us along. We applied our united efforts to 
the task of moving the vessel, but all in vain; it scarcely ad- 
vanced a foot. The boatman at last resumed his seat and 
folded his arms in utter despair. “ Since we cannot get on by 
ourselves,” said he, “ we must wait here until the passage- 
boat comes up, and then follow in its course.” We waited. 

The boatman was evidently altogether disconcerted; he 
loudly reproached himself for having undertaken this la- 
borious business; while we, on our parts, were angry with 
ourselves for having permitted a consideration of economy 


PRIME MINISTER OF THE ORTOUS 155 


to deter us from proceeding with the ferry-boat. We should 
have got into the water and waded to the shore, but, besides 
the difficulty connected with the baggage, the undertaking 
was dangerous in itself. The ground was so irregular that 
while at one moment you passed through water so shallow 
that it would scarcely float the boat, in the next moment you 
came to a hole deep enough to drown you three times over. 


Encounter with the Prime Minister of the Ortous. 


It was near noon when we saw three passage-boats pass- 
ing us, which belonged to the family who enjoyed the 
monopoly of the ferry. After having with infinite labour ex- 
tricated ourselves from the mud and attained the channel in- 
dicated by these boats, we were quietly following their course 
when they stopped, evidently awaiting us. We recognized 
the person with whom we had tried to bargain for our pas- 
sage over, and he recognized us, as we could easily perceive 
by the angry glances which he directed against us. ‘* You tor- 
toise-egg,” cried he to our boatman, “ what have these West- 
ern men given you for the passage? They must have handed 
over a good bagful of sapeks to have induced you to tres- 
pass upon my rights! You and I will have a little talk about 
the matter by and by; be sure of that.” “ Don’t answer him,” 
whispered the boatman to us; then raising his voice and as- 
suming an air of virtuous indignation, he cried to the ferry- 
man: “ What do you mean? You don’t know what you’re 
talking about. Consult the dictates of reason, instead of get- 
ting into a fury about nothing. These lamas have not given 
me a sapek; they have cured my leg with one of their West- 
ern specifics, and do you mean to say that in gratitude for 
such a benefit I am not to carry them over the Paga-Gol? My 
conduct is perfectly right and in conformity with religion.” 
The ferryman, grumbling between his teeth, pretended to 
accept the statement thus made. 


156 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


This little altercation was succeeded by profound silence 
on both sides. While the flotilla was peaceably advancing, 
pursuing the thread of a narrow current, just wide enough to 
admit the passage of a boat, we saw galloping towards us 
along the shallows a horseman whose rapid progress dashed 
aside the water in all directions. As soon as he came within call, 
he stopped short. “* Make haste,” cried he, “ make haste; lose 
no time, row with all your might! The Prime Minister of the 
King of the Ortous is yonder on the prairie with his suite, 
waiting the arrival of your boat. Row quickly.” He who 
spoke was a Tartar mandarin, his rank being indicated by the 
blue button which surmounted his hair cap. After issuing his 
orders he turned round, whipped his horse, and galloped 
back the same way he had come. When he was out of sight, 
the murmurs which his presence had restrained burst out. 
“‘ Here’s a day’s labour marked out! A fine thing, truly, to be 
employed by a Mongol Toudzelaktsi (Minister of State), 
who’ll make us row all day and then not give us a single 
sapek for our pains.” “ As to that, it need not so much mat- 
ter; but the chances are that this Tcheou-ta-dze will break 
every bone in our bodies into the bargain.” “ Well, row away, 
it can’t be helped; after all, we shall have the honour of 
ferrying over a Toudzelaktsi.” This little piece of insolence 
excited a laugh, but the prevalent expression was that of 
furious invective against the Mongol authorities. 

Our boatman remained silent; at last he said to us: “ This 
is a most unfortunate day for me. I shall be obliged to carry 
some of this Toudzelaktsi’s suite, perhaps to [chagan-Kouren 
itself. I am by myself, I am ill, and my boat ought this eve- 
ning to be engaged in fishing.” We were truly afflicted at this 
unlucky turn of affairs, feeling as we did that we were the 
involuntary occasion of the poor fisherman’s misfortune. We 
knew very well that it was no trifling matter to be called into 
the service, in this way, of a Chinese or Tartar mandarin, for 


PRIME MINISTER OF THE ORTOUS 157 


whom everything must be done at once, unhesitatingly and 
cheerfully. No matter what may be the difficulties in the way, 
that which the mandarin desires must be done. Knowing the 
consequences of the meeting to our poor boatman, we deter- 
mined to see what we could do to relieve him from the di- 
lemma. “ Brother,” said we, “do not be uneasy; the man- 
darin who awaits the passage-boats is a Tartar, the minister 
of the king of this country. We will endeavour to manage 
matters for you. Go very slowly, stop now and then; while 
we are in your boat no one, attendants, mandarins, not even 
the Toudzelakisi himself, will venture to say a word to you.” 
We stopped short in our course, and meanwhile the three 
passage-boats reached the landing-place where the Mongol 
authorities were waiting for them. Soon two mandarins, with 
the blue button, galloped towards us. “ What are you stop- 
ping there for? ” cried they. “ Why do you not come on? ” 
We interposed. “ Brother Mongols,” said we, ‘ request your 
master to content himself with the three boats already at the 
shore. This man is ill and has been rowing a long time; it 
would be cruel to prevent him from resting himself awhile.” 
“¢ Be it as you desire, Sirs Lamas,” replied the horsemen, and 
they galloped back to the Toudzelaktsi. 

We then resumed our course, but very slowly, in order 
to give time for every person to embark before we reached 
the shore. By and by we saw the three ferry-boats returning, 
filled with mandarins and their atteridants; the horses were 
fording the river in another direction, under the guidance of 
one of the boatmen. As the party approached, our boatman 
grew more and more afraid; he did not venture to raise his 
eyes, and he scarcely breathed. At last the boats were level 
with each other. “ Sirs Lamas,” cried a voice, “‘ is peace with 
you? ” The red button in the cap of the speaker and the rich- 
ness of his embroidered dress indicated that it was the prime 
minister who addressed to us this Tartar compliment. 


158 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


“ Toudzelaktsi of the Ortous,” replied we, “our progress is — 
slow, but it is favourable; may peace also attend you.” After a 
few other civilities required by Tartar forms we proceeded on 
our way. When we had attained a safe distance from the man- 
darins, our boatman was perfectly relieved; we had extri- 
cated him from a most serious difficulty. The ferry-boats, it 
was probable, would be engaged at least three days in their 
gratuitous labour, for, the Toudzelaktsi not choosing to travel 
across the marshes, the boats would have to convey him down ~ 
the Yellow River all the way to Tchagan-Kouren. | 

After a long, laborious, and dangerous passage we — 
reached the other side of the waters. 

The sun was just about to set. We would willingly have 
encamped at once, for we were exhausted with hunger and 
fatigue, but we could not possibly do so, for we had, they told 
us, fully ten /és to journey before we should get out of the 
mud. We loaded our camels, therefore, and proceeded on- 
ward, completing the miserable day in pain and suffering. 
Night had closed in before we came to a place where we 
could set up our tent; we had no strength left for preparing 
the usual meal; so, drinking some cold water and eating a few 
handfuls of millet, we lay down, after a brief prayer, and 
fell into a deep slumber. 


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LIMP PTS \ 26 IN 2 
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4 


ELECTION OF A LIVING BUDDHA, 


CHAPTER VII 


THE sun was already very high when we rose. On leaving the 
tent we looked round us, in order to get acquainted with this 
new country, which the darkness of the preceding evening 
had not allowed us to examine. It appeared to us dismal and 
arid; but we were happy, on any terms, to lose sight of bogs 
and swamps. We had left behind us the Yellow River, with 
its overflowing waters, and entered the sandy steppes of 
Ortous. 

The land of Ortous is divided into seven banners; it 
extends a hundred leagues from east to west, and seventy 
from south to north. It is surrounded by the Yellow River on 
the west, east, and north, and by the Great Wall on the south. 
This country has been subjected, at all periods, to the influ- 
ence of the political revolutions by which the Chinese Em- 
pire has been agitated. The Chinese and Tartar conquerors 
have taken possession of it in turns and made it the theatre 


160 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


of sanguinary wars. During the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth — 
centuries it remained under the sceptre of the kings of Hia, 
who derived their origin from the Thou-Pa Tartars of the 
land of Si-Fan. The capital of their kingdom, called Hia- 
Tcheou, was situated at the foot of the Alécha mountains be- 
tween the Hoang-Ho and the Great Wall. At present this 
town is called Ning-Hia, and belongs to the province Kan- 
Sou. In 1227 the kingdom of Hia, and afterwards Ortous, — 
were involved in the common desolation by the victories of 
Jenghiz Khan, founder of the Tartar dynasty of the Youen. 

After the expulsion of the Tartar Mongols by the Ming, 
the Ortous fell under the power of the Khan of the Tchakar. 
When the latter submitted to the Manchu conquerors, in 
1635, the Ortous followed his example and were reunited to 
the empire as a tributary people. 

The Emperor Khang-Hi resided for some time among 
the Ortous in 1696, when he was on his expedition against 
the Eleuts; and this is what he wrote of this people in a let- 
ter to the prince, his son, who had remained at Peking: “ Till 
now I never had at all an accurate idea respecting the Ortous: 
they are a very civilized nation and have lost nothing of the 
old manners of the true Mongols. All their princes live in 
perfect union among themselves and do not know the dif- 
ference between mine and thine. No one ever heard of a 
thief amongst them, although they take not the slightest 
precaution for guarding their camels and horses. If by chance — 
one of these animals goes astray, it is taken care of by him 
who finds it till he has discovered its owner, to whom he re- 
stores it without the least payment. The Ortous are extremely 
skilful in breeding cattle; most of their horses are tame and 
tractable. The Tchakars, north of the Ortous, enjoy the repu- 
tation of training them with more care and success; never- 
theless, I believe that the Ortous excel them in this point. 
Notwithstanding these advantages, they are not at all so rich 
as the other Mongols.” 


THE ORTOUS COUNTRY 161 


This quotation, which we take from the Abbé Grosier, 
is in every point conformable with what we ourselves were 
able to observe among the Ortus; so that since the time of 
the Emperor Khang-Hi this people has not at all changed 
in its manners. 

The aspect of the country through which we travelled 
on the first day of our journey seemed affected by the vicin- 
ity of the Chinese fishermen who reside on the banks of the 
Yellow River. We saw here and there cultivated grounds, but 
there can be nothing more wretched and bare-looking than 
this cultivation, except, perhaps, the cultivator himself. 
These miserable agriculturists are a mixed people, half Chi- 
nese, half Tartars, but possessing neither the industry of the 
former, nor the frank and simple manners of the latter. 
They live in houses, or rather in dirty sheds built of branches 
intertwined, rudely covered with mud and cow’s excrement. 
Thirst obliging us to enter one of these habitations to ask for 
some water, we were able to convince ourselves that the in- 
terior did not in any way contradict the misery which ap- 
peared outside. Men and animals live together higgledy- 
piggledy in these abodes, which are far inferior to those of 
the Mongols, where, at least, the air is not infected by the 
presence of cattle and sheep. 

The sandy soil which is cultivated by these poor peo- 
ple, beyond a little buckwheat and millet, produces only 
hemp, but this is very large and abundant. Though when we 
were there the crop was already gathered in, we could 
nevertheless judge of the beauty of its stem from what re- 
mained in the fields. The farmers of Ortous do not pull up 
the hemp when it is ripe, as is done in China; they cut it off 
above the ground, so high as to leave a stump of about an 
inch in diameter. It was accordingly great toil for our cam- 
els to traverse those vast fields of hemp; the stumps, occur- 
ring at every step beneath their large feet, compelled them 
to execute all sorts of fantastic movements, which would 


162 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


have excited our mirth had we not been fearful of seeing 
them wounded. However, that which so impeded our cam- 
els proved of great use to ourselves. When we had set up our 
tent, these stumps furnished us with a ready and abundant 
fuel. 

We soon entered once more the Land of Grass, if, in- 
deed, one can give this name to such a barren, arid country as 
that of the Ortous. Wherever you turn, you find only a soil 
bare and without verdure; rocky ravines, marly hills, and 
plains covered with a fine, moving sand, blown by the im- 
petuous winds in every direction; for pasture you will only 
find a few thorny bushes and poor fern, dusty and fetid. At 
intervals only, this horrible soil produces some thin, sharp 
grass, so firm in the earth that the animals can only get it up 
by digging the sand with their muzzles. The numerous 
swamps which had been so heavy a desolation to us on the 
borders of the Yellow River became matter of regret in the 
country of the Ortous, so very rare here is water; not a single 
rivulet is there, not a spring, where the traveller can quench 
his thirst; at distances only are there pang and cisterns, filled 
with a fetid: muddy water. 

The Bis with whom we had bee in communication at 
Blue Town had warned us of all the miseries we should have 
to endure in the country of the Ortous, especially on account 
of the scarcity of water. By their advice we had brought two 
wooden pails, which proved indeed of the greatest service 
to us. Whenever we were lucky enough to find on our way 
pools or wells dug by the Tartars, we filled our pails, without 
considering too nicely the quality of the water, which we used 
with the greatest economy, as if it had been some rare and 
precious beverage. In spite of all these precautions it hap- 
pened more than once that we were obliged to pass whole 
days without getting a single drop of water wherewith to 
moisten our lips. But our personal privations were trifling 


THE ORTOUS COUNTRY 163 


compared with the pain we felt at seeing our animals want- 
ing water almost every day in a country where they had noth- 
ing to eat beyond a few plants nearly dried up and, as it were, 
calcined by nitre, and where they accordingly fell away 
visibly. After some days’ travelling, the horse assumed a 
truly wretched appearance; it bent down its head and seemed 
at every step as though it would sink down with weakness; 
the camels painfully balanced themselves on their long legs, 
and their emaciated humps hung over their backs like empty 
bags. 

The steppes of the Ortous, though so destitute of water 
and good pasture, have not been quite abandoned by wild ani- 
mals. You often find there grey squirrels, agile yellow goats, 
and beautifully plumaged pheasants. Hares are in abundance 
and are so far from shy that they did not even take the trou- 
ble to move at our approach; they merely rose on their hind 
legs, pricked up their ears, and looked at us with the utmost 
indifference as we passed. The fact is, these animals feel per- 
fectly secure, for, with the exception of a few Mongols who 
follow the chase, nobody ever molests them. 

The herds of the Tartars of the Ortous are not very 
numerous and are quite different from those which feed on 
the rich pastures of the Tchakar or of Gechekten. The cattle 
and horses appeared very miserable; the goats, sheep, and 
camels, however, looked very well, which is undoubtedly the 
consequence of their predilection for plants impregnated 
with saltpetre, whereas cattle and horses prefer fresh pas- 
tures and pure and abundant water. 

The Mongols of Ortous are very much affected by the 
wretchedness of the soil upon which they live. In the course 
of our journey we saw no indication that they had become 
much richer than they were in the time of the Emperor 
Khang-Hi. Most of them live in tents made of some rags of 
felt, or of goatskins framed on a wretched woodwork. 


164 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


Everything about these tents is so old and dirty, so tattered 
with time and storms, that you would with difficulty suppose 
they could serve as abodes for human beings. Whenever we 
happened to pitch our tent near these poor habitations, we 
were sure to be visited by a crowd of wretches who prostrated 
themselves at our feet, rolled on the earth, and gave us the 
most magnificent titles, in order to extract something from 
our charity. 


Social Classes among the Tartars. Slavery. 


Anyone not acquainted with the laws by which the Tar- 
tars are ruled would not readily understand why men con- 
demn themselves to spend their lives in the wretched coun- 
try of the Ortous whilst Mongolia presents, in every direction, | 
immense uninhabited plains where water and pasture are 
to be found in abundance. Although the Tartars are no- 
mads, and incessantly wandering about from one place to an- 
other, they are, nevertheless, not at liberty to live in any — 
other country than their own. They are bound to remain in 
their own kingdom, under the dominion of their own sover- 
eign, for slavery is still maintained among the Mongol tribes 
with the utmost rigour. 

In Tartary all the families that are in any way related 
to the sovereign form a nobility, or a patrician caste, who are 
proprietors of the whole soil. The Tartars who do not belong 
to the royal family are all slaves, living in absolute subjection 
to their masters. Besides the rents they pay, they are bound to 
keep their master’s flocks and herds, but they are not for- — 
bidden to breed also cattle on their own account. It would be ~ 
a fallacy to imagine that slavery in Tartary is oppressive and 
cruel, as amongst some nations; the noble families scarcely — 
differ from the slave families. In examining the relations be- 
tween them, it would be difficult to distinguish the master 
from the slave: they live both alike in tents, and both alike 


A THEOLOGICAL DISPUTE 165 


occupy their lives in pasturing their flocks. You will never 
find among them luxury and opulence insolently staring in 
the face of poverty. When the slave enters his master’s tent, 
the latter never fails to offer him tea and milk; they smoke 
together and exchange their pipes. Around the tents the 
young slaves and the young noblemen romp and wrestle to- 
gether without distinction; the stronger throws the weaker; 
that is all. You often find families of slaves becoming pro- 
prietors of numerous flocks and spending their days in abun- 
dance. We met many who were richer than their masters, a 
circumstance giving no umbrage to the latter. 


A Theologic Dispute. Vexation of a Lama. 


After some days’ march across the sands of the Ortous, 
we noticed on our way a small lamasery, richly built in a pic- 
turesque and wild situation. We passed on without stopping. 
We had advanced a gunshot from the place when we heard 
behind us the galloping of a horse. On looking round we saw 
a lama following us at full speed. “ Brothers,” he said, “ you 
have passed our sowmé (lamasery) without stopping. Are 
you in such haste that you cannot repose for a day and offer 
your adorations to our saint? ” “ Yes, we are rather in a 
hurry; our journey is not of a few days; we are going to the 
West.” “ I knew very well by your physiognomies that you 
were not Mongols and that you came from the West; but as 
you are going so far, you had better prostrate yourselves be- 
fore our saint; that will bring you good luck.” “ We never 
prostrate ourselves before men; the true creed of the West 
forbids that.” “ Our saint is not a mere man; you do not 
imagine, perhaps, that in our little lamasery we have the hap- 
piness to possess a Chaberon, a living Buddha. It is two 
years since he deigned to descend from the holy mountains 
of Thibet; he is now seven years old. In one of his former 
lives he was Grand Lama of a splendid lamasery in this vale, 


166 . TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


which was destroyed, according to the prayer-books, in the 
time of the wars of Jenghiz. The saint having reappeared a 
few years since, we have constructed in haste a small lama- 
sery. Come, brothers, our saint will hold his right hand over 
your heads, and luck will accompany your steps! ” “ The 
men who know the holy doctrine of the West do not believe 
in all these transmigrations of the Chaberons. We adore only 
the Creator of heaven and earth; his name is Jehovah. We 
believe that the child you have made superior of your lama- 
sery is destitute of all power. Men have nothing to hope or 
to fear from him.” When the lama heard these words, which 
he certainly never expected, he was quite stupefied. By de- 
grees his face became animated, and at last exhibited indigna- 
tion and anger. He looked at us several times; then, pulling 
the bridle of his horse, he turned short round and left us 
hastily, muttering between his teeth some words which we 
could not exactly hear, but which we were aware did not con- ~ 
stitute a benediction. 


Election of a Living Buddha. 


The Tartars believe with firm and absolute faith in all 
these various transmigrations. They would never allow them- 
selves to entertain the slightest doubt as to the authenticity of 
their Chaberons. These living Buddhas are in large numbers, 
and are always placed at the head of the most important 
lamaseries. Sometimes they modestly begin their career in a 
small temple and have only a few disciples; but very soon 
their reputation increases around, and the small lamasery be- 
comes a place of pilgrimage and devotion. The neighbouring 
lamas, speculating upon the rising fashion, surround it with 
their cells; the lamasery acquires development from year to 
year and becomes at last famous in the land. 

The election and enthronization of the living Buddhas 
are conducted in so singular a manner as to be well worth re- 


A LIVING BUDDHA } 167 


lating. When a Grand Lama has gone — that is to say, is 
dead — the circumstance is no occasion of mourning in the 
lamasery. There are no tears, no lamentations, for everybody 
knows the Chaberon will very soon reappear. This apparent 
death is but the beginning of a new existence, as it were, one 
ring more added to the unlimited, uninterrupted chain of 
successive lives — a regular palingenesis. While the saint is 
in a state of chrysalis, his disciples are in the greatest anxiety; 
for it is their most important affair to discover the place 
where their master will resume life. A rainbow appearing in 
the air is considered a signal sent to them by their old Great 
Lama to aid them in their research. Everyone thereupon says 
his prayers, and while the lamasery which has lost its Buddha 
redoubles its fastings and prayers, a troop of elect proceeds to 
consult the Tchurtchun, or augur, famous for the knowledge 
of things hidden from the common herd. He is informed 
that on such a day of such a moon the rainbow of the Cha- 
beron has manifested itself on the sky; it made its appear- 
ance in such a place; it was more or less luminous, and it was 
visible so long; then it disappeared amid such and such cir- 
cumstances. When the Tchurichun has received all the neces- 
sary indications, he recites some prayers, opens his books of 
divination, and pronounces at last his oracle, while the Tar- 
tars who have come to consult him listen, kneeling and full 
of unction. “ Your Great Lama,” says he, “ has reappeared 
in Thibet, at such a distance from your lamasery. You will 
find him in such a family.” When these poor Mongols have 
heard this oracle, they return full of joy to announce the 
glad tidings to their lamasery. 

It often happens that the disciples of the defunct have 
no occasion to trouble themselves at all in order to discover 
the new birthplace of their Great Lama. He himself takes 
the trouble to initiate them into the secret of his transforma- 
tion. As soon as he has effected his metamorphosis in Thibet, 


168 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


he reveals himself at an age when common children cannot 
yet articulate a single word. “ It is I,”” he says with the accent 
of authority; “it is I who am the Great Lama, the living 
Buddha of such a temple; conduct me to my ancient lama- 
sery. I am its immortal superior.”” The wonderful baby hav- 
ing thus spoken, it is speedily communicated to the lamas of 
the soumé indicated that their Chaberon is born in such 
a place, and they are summoned to attend and invite him 
home. 

In whatever manner the Tartars discover the residence 
of their Great Lama, whether by the appearance of the rain- 
bow, or by the spontaneous revelation of the Chaberon him- 
self, they are always full of intense joy on the occasion. Soon 
all is movement in the tents, and the thousand preparations 
for a long journey are made with enthusiasm, for it is almost 
always in Thibet that they have to seek their living Buddha, 
who seldom fails to play them the trick of transmigrating in 
some remote and almost inaccessible country. Everyone con- 
tributes his share to the organization of the holy journey. If 
the king of the country does not place himself at the head of 
the caravan, he sends either his own son or one of the most 
illustrious members of the royal family. The great man- 
darins, or ministers of the king, consider it their duty and an 
honour to join the party. When everything is at last pre- 
pared, an auspicious day is chosen, and the caravan starts. 

Sometimes these poor Mongols, after having endured 
incredible fatigues in horrible deserts, fall into the hands of 
the brigands of the Blue Sea, who strip them from head to 
foot. If they do not die of hunger and cold in those dread- 
ful solitudes —if they succeed in returning to the place 
whence they came — they commence the preparations for a 
new journey. There is nothing capable of discouraging them. 
At last, when, by dint of energy and perseverance, they have 
contrived to reach the eternal sanctuary, they prostrate them- 


A LIVING BUDDHA 169 


selves before the child who has been indicated to them. The 
young Chaberon, however, is not saluted and proclaimed 
Great Lama without a previous examination. There is held 
a solemn sitting, at which the new living Buddha is examined 
publicly, with a scrupulous attention. He is asked the name of 
the lamasery of which he assumes to be the Great Lama; at 
what distance it is; what is the number of the lamas residing 
in it. He is interrogated respecting the habits and customs of 
the defunct Great Lama and the principal circumstances at- 
tending his death. After all these questions, there are placed 
before him different prayer-books, articles of furniture, tea- 
pots, cups, &c., and amongst all these things he has to point 
out those which belonged to his former life. 

Generally this child, at most but five or six years old, 
comes forth victorious out of all these trials. He answers ac- 
curately all the questions that are put to him and makes with- 
out any embarrassment the inventory of his goods. “ Here,” 
he says, “ are the prayer-books I used; there is the japanned 
porringer out of which I drank my tea.” And so on. 

No doubt the Mongols are often dupes of the fraud of 
those who have an interest in making a Great Lama out of 
this puppet. Yet we believe that often all this proceeds on both 
sides with honesty and good faith. From the information we 
obtained from persons worthy of the greatest credit, it ap- 
pears certain that all that is said of the Chaberons must not 
be ranged amongst illusion and deception. A purely human 
philosophy will, undoubtedly, reject such things, or put 
them, without hesitating, down to the account of lama im- 
posture. We Catholic missionaries believe that the great liar 
who once deceived our first parents in the earthly paradise 
still pursues his system of falsehood in the world. He who 
had the power to hold up in the air Simon Magus may well 
at this day speak to mankind by the mouth of an infant, in 
order to maintain the faith of his adorers. 


170 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


When the titles of the living Buddha have been con- 
firmed, he is conducted in triumph to the lamasery, of which 
he is to be the Grand Lama. Upon the road he takes, all is ex- 
citement, all is movement. The Tartars assemble in large 
crowds to prostrate themselves on his way, and to present to 
him their offerings. As soon as he is arrived at his lamasery, he 
is placed upon the altar; and then kings, princes, mandarins, 
lamas, Tartars, from the richest to the poorest, come and 
bend the head before this child, which has been brought from 
the depths of Thibet, at enormous expense, and whose de- 
moniac possessions excite everybody’s respect, admiration, 
and enthusiasm. 


Organization of a Lamasery. Education by Blows. Canonic Books. 


There is no Tartar kingdom which does not possess in one 
of its lamaseries of the first class a living Buddha. Besides this 
superior there is always another Grand Lama, who is selected 
from the members of the royal family. The Thibetian lama 
resides in the lamasery, like a living idol, receiving every day 
the adorations of the devout, upon whom in return he be- 
stows his blessing. Everything which relates to prayers and 
liturgical ceremonies is placed under his immediate superin- 
tendence. The Mongol Grand Lama is charged with the ad- 
ministration, good order, and executive of the lamasery; he 
governs whilst his colleague is.content to reign. : 

Below these two sovereigns are several subaltern officers, 
who direct the details of the administration, the revenues, 
the sales, the purchases, and the discipline. The scribes 
keep the registers and draw up the regulations and orders 
which the governor lama promulgates for the good keeping 
and order of the lamasery. These scribes are generally well 
versed in the Mongol, Thibetian, and sometimes in the Chi- 


; ih? 
a rar 
—n". * 


nese and Manchu languages. Before they are admitted to this 


employment, they are obliged to undergo a very rigorous ex- 


cl 


EDUCATION BY BLOWS I7I 


amination, in presence of all the lamas and of the principal 
civil authorities of the country. 

After this staff of superiors and officers, the inhabitants 
of the lamasery are divided in lama-masters and lama-dis- 
ciples, or chabis; each lama has under his direction one or 
more chabis, who live in his small house and execute all the 
details of the household. If the master possesses cattle, they 
take charge of them, milk the cows, and prepare the butter 
and cream. In return for these services, the master directs 
his disciples in the study of the prayers and initiates them into 
the liturgy. Every morning the chadi must be up before his 
master; his first task is to sweep the chamber, to light a fire, 
and to make the tea; after that he takes his prayer-book, pre- 
sents it respectfully to his master, and prostrates himself 
thrice before him, without saying a single word. This sign 
of respect is equivalent to a request that the lesson he has to 
learn in the course of the day may be marked. The master 
opens the book and reads some pages, according to the capac- 
ity of his scholar, who then makes three more prostrations in 
sign of thanks, and returns to his affairs. 

The chabi studies his prayer-book when he is disposed 
to do so, there being no fixed period for that; he may spend 
his time sleeping or romping with the other young pupils, 
without the slightest interference on the part of his master. 
When the hour for retiring to bed has arrived, he recites 
the lesson assigned him in the morning, in a monotonous man- 
ner; if the recitation is good, he is looked upon as having 
done his duty, the silence of his master being the only praise 
he is entitled to obtain; if, on the contrary, he is not able to 
give a good account of his lesson, the severest punishment 
makes him sensible of his fault. It often happens that under 
such circumstances the master, laying aside his usual gravity, 
rushes upon his scholar and overwhelms him at once with 
blows and terrible maledictions. Some of the pupils who are 


172 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


over-maltreated run away and seek adventures far from their 
lamasery; but in general they patiently submit to the punish- 
ment inflicted on them, even that of passing the night in the 
open air, without any clothes and in full winter. We often 
had opportunities of talking with chabis, and when we asked 
them whether there was no means of learning the prayers 
without being beaten, they ingenuously, and with an accent 
manifesting entire conviction, replied that it was impossible. 
“‘ The prayers one knows best,” they said, ‘are always those 
for which one has got most blows. The lamas who cannot re- 
cite prayers, or cure maladies, or tell fortunes, or predict the 
future, are those who have not been beaten well by their 
masters.” 

Besides these studies, which are conducted at home, and 
under the immediate superintendence of the master, the 
chabis may attend, in the lamasery, public lectures, wherein 
the books which relate to religion and to medicine are ex- 
pounded. But these commentaries are mostly vague, unsatis- 
factory, and quite inadequate to form learned lamas; there 
are few of them who can give an exact account of the books 
they study; to justify their omission in this respect, they 
never fail to allege the profundity of the doctrine. As to the 
great majority of the lamas, they think it more convenient 
and expeditious to recite the prayers in a merely mechanical 
way, without giving themselves any trouble about the ideas 
they contain. 

The Thibetian books alone being reputed canonical, and 
admitted as such by the Buddhist reformation, the Mongol 
lamas pass their lives in studying a foreign idiom, without 
troubling themselves at all about their own language. There 
are many of them well versed in the Thibetian literature 
who do not even know their own Mongol alphabet. There 
are indeed a few lamaseries where the study of the Tar- 
tarian idiom receives some slight attention, and where they 


A TORRENTIAL STORM 173 


sometimes recite Mongo. prayers, but these are always a 
translation of Thibetian books. A lama who can read Thibe- 
tian and Mongol is reputed quite a savant; he is thought a 
being raised above mankind if he has some knowledge of 
Chinese and Manchu literature. 


A Torrential Storm. Cold. Refuge in a Cave. 


As we advanced in the Ortous, the country seemed more 
and more desert and dismal. To make matters still worse, 
a terrible storm, solemnly closing in the autumn season, 
brought upon us the cold of winter. One day we were pro- 
ceeding with difficulty through the arid sandy desert; the 
perspiration ran down our foreheads, for the heat was sti- 
fling; we felt overpowered by the closeness of the atmos- 
phere, and our camels, with outstretched necks and mouths 
half open, vainly sought in the air a breath of cooling fresh- 
ness. Towards noon dark clouds began to gather in the hori- 
zon; fearful of being surprised by the storm, we determined 
to pitch our tent. But where? We looked round on all sides; 
we ascended to the tops of the hillocks and anxiously sought 
with our eyes for some Tartar habitation, which might pro- 
vide us with fuel; but in vain; we had before us on all sides 
nothing but a mournful solitude. From time to time we saw 
the foxes retiring to their holes, and herds of yellow goats 
running to take repose in the defiles of the mountains. Mean- 
time the clouds continued to rise and the wind began to blow 
violently. In the irregularity of its gusts it seemed now to 
bring us the tempest, now to drive it from us. While we were 
thus suspended between hope and fear, loud claps of thunder, 
and repeated flashes of lightning that seemed to enkindle the 
sky, gave us notice that we had no other resource than to place 
ourselves entirely in the hands of Providence. The icy north 
wind blowing fiercely, we directed our steps to a defile which 
opened near us; but before we had time to reach it, the storm 


174. TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


exploded. At first, rain fell in torrents, then hail, and at last 
snow, half melted. In an instant we were wet through to the 
skin and felt the cold seizing upon our limbs. We immedi- 
ately alighted, hoping that walking would warm us a little, 
but we had hardly advanced ten steps amidst the deluge of 
sand when our legs sank as in mortar. When we found it im- 
possible to go any farther, we sought shelter by the side of 
our camels, and crouched down, pressing our arms closely 
against our sides in order to attain, if possible, a little warmth. 

While the storm continued to hurl against us its fury, 
we awaited with resignation the fate which Providence des- 
tined for us. It was impossible to pitch the tent; it was beyond 
human power to spread cloth saturated with rain and half 
frozen by the north wind. Besides, it would have been difh- 
cult to find a site for it, since the water streamed in every di- 
rection. Amid circumstances so dreadful, we looked at each 
other in sadness and in silence; we felt the natural warmth 
of our bodies diminishing every minute, and our blood begin- 
ning to freeze. We offered, therefore, the sacrifice of our 
lives to God, for we were convinced that we should die of 
cold during the night. 

One of us, however, collecting all his strength and all 
his energy, climbed up an eminence which commanded a view 
of the contiguous defile, and discovered a foot-path leading 
by a thousand sinuosities into the depths of the immense ra- 
vine; he pursued its direction and, after a few steps in the 
hollow, perceived in the sides of the mountain large open- 
ings, like doors. At this sight recovering at once his courage 
and his strength, he ascended once more the eminence in 
order to communicate the good news to his companions. “ We 
are saved,” he cried; “ there are caves in this defile; let us 
hasten to take refuge in them.” These words immediately 
aroused the little caravan; we left our animals upon the hill 
and speedily descended into the ravine. A foot-path led to 


ae 


REFUGE IN A CAVE 175 


the opening; we advanced our heads and discovered in the 
interior of the mountain, not simple caves formed by na- 
ture, but fine, spacious apartments excavated by the hand 
of man. Our first exclamation was an expression of thankful- 
ness for the goodness of Providence. We selected the clean- 
est and largest of these caverns and in an instant passed from 
the utmost misery to the height of felicity. It was like a 
sudden and unhoped-for transition from death to life. 

On viewing these subterranean dwellings, constructed 
with so much elegance and solidity, we were of opinion that 
some Chinese families had repaired to this country to culti- 
vate the soil; but that, repelled by its barrenness, they had 
given up their enterprise. Traces of cultivation, which we 
perceived here and there, confirmed our conjecture. When 
the Chinese establish themselves anywhere in Tartary, if 
they find mountains the earth of which is hard and solid, 
they excavate caverns in their sides. These habitations are 
cheaper than houses, and less exposed to the irregularity of 
the seasons. They are generally very well laid out; on each 
side of the door there are windows giving sufficient light to 
the interior; the walls, the ceiling, the furnaces, the kang, 
everything inside is so coated with plaster, so firm and shin- 
ing, that it has the appearance of stucco. These caves have 
the advantage of being very warm in winter and very cool in 
summer; the want of sufficient air, however, sometimes 
makes a sojourn in them dangerous to the health. Those 
dwellings were no novelty to us, for they abound in our mis- 
sion of Si-Wan. However, we had never seen any so well 
constructed as these of the Ortous. 

_ We took possession of one of those subterranean abodes 
and commenced proceedings by making a large fire in the 
furnaces, with plentiful bundles of hemp stems which we 
found in one of the caves. Never on our journey had we at 
our disposal such excellent fuel. Our clothes dried very soon, 


176 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


and we were so happy at being in this fine hotel of Provi- 
dence that we spent the greater part of the night enjoying 
the delightful sensation of warmth, while Samdadchiemba 
was never tired of broiling little cakes in mutton fat. It was 
altogether quite a festival with us, and our flour felt some- 
what the effectsofit. 

The animals were not less happy than we. We found 
for them stables out in the mountain, and, which was better 
still, excellent forage. One cave was filled with millet stems 
and oat-straw. But for this horrible storm, which had nearly 
killed us, our animals would never have got so grand a treat. 
After having for a long time enjoyed the poetry of our 
miraculous position we yielded to the necessity of taking 
repose, and lay down upon a well-warmed kang, which made 
us forget the terrible cold we had endured during the tem- 
pest. 


The Unexpected Neighbour. Insolence of the Sparrows, A Drama near the 
Caves. A Mongol Marriage. 


Next morning, while Samdadchiemba was using the rest 
of the hemp stems and drying our baggage, we went out 
for a nearer inspection of these numerous subterranes. We had 
scarcely gone ten steps when we beheld, to our great astonish- — 
ment, whirls of smoke issuing from the door and windows 


of a cave adjoining our own. As we fancied we were alone ~ 


in the desert, the sight of this smoke excited a surprise min- 
gled with fear. We directed our steps to the opening of the 
cavern, and, on reaching the threshold of the door, perceived 
within a large fire of hemp stems, whose undulating flame 
reached the ceiling, so that the place looked like an oven. On 
further investigation we observed a human form moving 
amidst the thick smoke; we soon heard the Tartar salute, 
Mendou! uttered by a sonorous voice; “ Come and sit be- 
side this fire.” We did not like to advance. This cave of Cacus, 


THE UNEXPECTED NEIGHBOR | iv | 


that loud voice, presented to our minds something fantastic. 
Finding that we remained silent and motionless, the inhabi- 
tant of this sort of vent-hole of Erebus rose and came to the 
threshold. He was neither a devil nor a ghost, but simply a 
Mongol Tartar, who, the night before, having been sur- 
prised by the storm, had fled to this cave, where he had passed 
the night. After a few words about the rain, wind, and hail 
we invited him to breakfast with us and brought him to our 
dwelling. While Samdadchiemba, aided by our guest, made 
the tea, we went out again to pursue our researches. 

We walked amid these deserted and silent abodes with 
a curiosity not free from terror. All were constructed upon 
much the same model, and still preserved their pristine in- 
tegrity. Chinese characters engraved on the walls, and pieces 
of porcelain vases, confirmed our impression that these caves 
had been inhabitated not long since by Chinese. Some 
woman’s old shoes, which we discovered in a corner, removed 
any remaining doubt. We could not shake off a feeling of 
sadness and melancholy when we thought of those numerous 
families who, after having lived a long time in the entrails 
of this large mountain, had gone elsewhere to seek a more 
hospitable soul. 

As we entered the caves, we alarmed flocks of sparrows, 
which had not yet left these former dwellings of man, but 
had, on the contrary, boldly taken possession of these grand 
nests. The millet and oats, strewn around profusely, in- 
duced them to remain. “Undoubtedly,” said we, “ they too 
will fly away when they no longer find here any more grains, 
when they find that the old inhabitants of these caves return 
no more, and they will seek hospitality under the roofs of 
houses.” 

The sparrow is a regular cosmopolite; we have found 
it wherever we have found man; ever with the same vivid, 
petulant, quarrelsome character; ever with the same sharp, 


178 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


angry cry. It is, however, to be remarked that in Tartary, 
China, and Thibet it is, perhaps, more insolent than in 
Europe; because there nobody makes war upon it, and its 
nest and brood are piously respected. You see it boldly enter 
the house, live there on familiar terms, and peck up at its 
leisure the remnants of man’s food. The Chinese call it io- 
niao-eul (bird of the family). | 

After having inspected about thirty of these caves, which 
did not present anything remarkable, we returned to our own. 
At breakfast the conversation naturally turned upon the Chi- 
nese who had excavated these dwellings. We asked the Tartar 
if he had seen them. “ What! ” said he, “ have I seen the 
Kitats who inhabited this defile? Why, I knew all of them; it 
is not more than two years since they left the country. For 
that matter,” he added, “ they had no right to remain here; 
as they were rascals, it was quite proper to turn them out.” 
“‘ Rascals, say you? why, what mischief could they do in this 
wretched ravine? ” “ Oh, the Kitats are sly, cheating fellows. 
At first they seemed very good, but that did not last long. 
It is more than twenty years ago that a few of their families 
sought our hospitality; as they were poor, they got permis- 
sion to cultivate some land in the vicinity, on condition that 
every year after harvest they should furnish some oatmeal 
to the Taitsi of the country. By degrees, other families ar- 
rived, who also excavated caverns wherein to dwell, and 
soon this defile was full of them. In the beginning these 
Kitats showed a'gentle, quiet character; we lived together like 
brothers. Tell me, Sirs Lamas, is it not well to live together 
like brothers? Are not all men brothers? ” “ Yes, that is true; 
you speak the words of justice; but why did these Kitats go 
hence? ” “ Peace did not last long! they soon showed them- 
selves wicked and false. Instead of being content with what 
_ had been given them, they extended their cultivation at their 
pleasure, and took possession of a large territory, without 


A DRAMA NEAR THE CAVES 179 


asking anyone’s leave. When they were rich, they would not 
pay the oatmeal they had agreed to pay as tribute. Every 
year, when we claimed the rent, we were received with in- 
sults and maledictions. But the worst thing was that these 
rascally Kitats turned thieves and took possession of all the 
goats and sheep that lost their way in the sinuosities of the 
ravine. At last a Taitsi of great courage and capacity called 
together the Mongols of the neighbourhood and said: ‘ The 
Kitats take away our land, they steal our beasts, and curse 
us; as they do not act or speak as brothers, we must expel 
them.’ Everybody was pleased with these words of the old 
Taitsi. After a deliberation it was decided that the principal 
men of the country should go to the king and supplicate an 
order condemning the Kitats to be expelled. I was one of the 
deputation. The king reproached us for having permitted 
foreigners to cultivate our lands; we prostrated ourselves 
before him, observing profound silence. However, the king, 
who always acts with justice, had the order written, and 
sealed with his red seal. The ordinance said that the king 
would not permit the Kitats to live any longer in the country, 
and that they must leave it before the first day of the eighth 
moon. Three Taitsi rode off to present the ordinance to the 
-Kitats. They made no answer to the three deputies, but said 
amongst themselves: ‘ The king desires us to go; very well.’ 

“ Afterwards we learned that they had assembled and 
had resolved to disobey the orders of the king and to remain 
in the country in spite of him. The first day of the eighth 
moon arrived, and they still occupied calmly their habitations, 
without making any preparation for departure. In the morn- 
ing, before day-break, all the Tartars mounted their horses, 
armed themselves with their lances, and drove their flocks 
and herds upon the cultivated lands of the Kitats, on which 
the crop was still standing: when the sun rose, nothing of 
that crop was left. All had been devoured by the animals or 


180 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


trodden down. The Kitats yelled and cursed us, but the thing 
was done. Seeing that their position was desperate, they col- 
lected, the same day, their furniture and agricultural im- 
plements, and went off to settle in the eastern parts of the 
Ortous, at some distance from the Yellow River, near the 
Paga-Gol. As you came through Tchagan-Kouren, you must 
have met on your route, west of the Paga-Gol, Kitats culti- 
vating some pieces of land; well, it was they who inhabited 
this defile and excavated all these caves.” 

Having finished his narrative, the Tartar went out for 
a moment and brought back a small packet, which he had 
left in the cavern where he had passed the night. “ Sirs 
Lamas,” he said on his return, ‘‘ I must depart; but will you 
not come and repose for a few days in my dwelling? My tent 
is not far hence; it is behind that sandy mountain which you 
perceive there towards the north. It is at the utmost not more 
than thirty Jis off.” “ We are much obliged to you,” answered 
we. “ The hospitality of the Mongols of Ortous is known 
everywhere, but we have a long journey before us; we can- 
not stop on our way.” ‘‘ What are a few days sooner or later 
in a long journey? Your beasts cannot always be on their 
feet; they need a little rest. You yourselves have had much 
to endure from the weather of yesterday. Come with me; 
all will then be well. In four days we shall have a festival. 
My eldest son is going to establish a family. Come to the nup- 
tials of my son; your presence will bring good fortune.” 
The Tartar, seeing us inflexible, mounted his horse and, after 
having ascended the pathway which led to the defile, disap- 
peared across the heath and sand of the desert. 

Under other circumstances we should have accepted 
with pleasure the offer thus made, but we desired to make 
the shortest possible stay amongst the Ortous. We were 
anxious to leave behind us that miserable country, where our 
animals were wasting away daily and where we had ourselves 


A MONGOL MARRIAGE I8fI 


met with such fatigue and misery. Besides, a Mongol wed- 
ding was no new thing to us. Since we had entered Tartary, 
we had witnessed more than once ceremonies of that kind. 

The Mongols marry very young, and always under the 
influence of the absolute authority of the parents. This affair, 
so grave and important, is initiated, discussed, and concluded 
without the two persons most interested in it taking the least 
part in it. Whatever promises of marriage may take place 
in youth or at more advanced age, it is the parents who al- 
ways settle the contract, without even speaking to their chil- 
dren about it. The two future consorts do not know, perhaps 
never saw each other. It is only when they are married that 
they have the opportunity to inquire whether there is sym- 
pathy between their characters or not. 

The daughter never brings any marriage portion. On 
the contrary, the young man has to make presents to the fam- 
ily of his bride; and the value of these presents is seldom left 
to the generosity of the husband’s parents. Everything is ar- 
ranged beforehand and set forth in a public document, with 
the minutest details. In fact, the matter is less a marriage 
present than the price of an object sold by one party and 
bought by the other. The thing is indeed very clearly ex- 
pressed in their language; they say: “ I have bought for my 
son the daughter of so and so.” “* We have sold our daughter 
to such and such a family.” The marriage contract is thus 
simply a contract of sale. There are mediators, who bargain 
and haggle, up and down, till at last they come to an agree- 
ment. When it is settled how many horses, oxen, sheep, pieces 
of linen, pounds of butter, what quantity of. brandy and 
wheat flour, shall be given to the family of the bride, the 
contract is at length drawn up before witnesses, and the 
daughter becomes the property of the purchaser. She re- 
mains, however, with her family till the time of the nuptial 
ceremonies. 


182 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


When the marriage ‘thas been concluded between the 
mediators, the father of the bridegroom, accompanied by his 
nearest relations, carries the news to the family of the bride. 
On entering they prostrate themselves before the little do- 
mestic altar and offer to the idol of Buddha a boiled sheep’s- 
head, milk, and a sash of white silk. Then they partake of a 
repast provided by the parents of the bridegroom. During 
the repast all the relations of the bride receive a piece of 
money, which they deposit in a vase filled with wine made 
of fermented milk. The father of the bride drinks the wine 
and keeps the money. This ceremony is called Tahil-T ébihou, 
“ striking the bargain.” 

The day indicated by the lamas as auspicious for the 
marriage having arrived, the bridegroom sends early in the 
morning a deputation to fetch the girl who has been betrothed 
to him, or rather whom he has bought. When the envoys 
draw near, the relations and friends of the bride place them- 
selves in a circle before the door, as if to oppose the depar- 
ture of the bride, and then begins a feigned fight, which of 
course terminates with the bride’s being carried off. She is 
placed on a horse, and, having been thrice led round her 
paternal house, she is then taken at full gallop to the tent 
which has been prepared for the purpose, near the dwelling 
of her father-in-law. Meantime all the Tartars of the neigh- 
bourhood, the relations and friends of both families, repair 
to the wedding-feast and offer their presents to the new 
married pair. The extent of these presents, which consist of 
beasts and eatables, is left to the generosity of the guests. 
They are destined for the father of the bridegroom and often 
fully indemnify him for his expenses in the purchase of the 
bride. As the offered animals come up, they are taken into 
folds ready constructed for them. At the weddings of rich 
Tartars these large folds receive great herds of oxen, horses, 


THE MONGOL WOMEN 183 


and sheep. Generally the guests are generous enough, for 
they know that they will be paid in return, upon a similar 
occasion. 

When the bride has finished dressing, she is introduced 
to her father-in-law; and while the assembled lamas recite 
the prayers prescribed by the ritual, she first prostrates her- 
self before the image of Buddha, then before the hearth, and 
lastly before the father, mother, and other near relatives of 
the bridegroom, who, on his part, performs the same cere- 
monies towards the family of his bride, assembled in an adja- 
cent tent. Then comes the wedding-feast, which sometimes 
continues for seven or eight days. An excessive profusion of 
fat meat, infinite tobacco, and large jars of brandy consti- 
tute the splendour and magnificence of these repasts. Some- 
times music is added to the entertainment, and they invite 
Toolholos, or Tartar singers, to give more solemnity to the 
festival. 


Condition of the Mongol Women. Polygamy. Divorce. The Feminine 


Costume. 


The plurality of wives is admitted in Tartary, being 
opposed neither to the laws, nor to the religion, nor to the 
manners of the country. The first wife is always the mistress 
of the household, and the most respected in the family. The 
other wives bear the name of little spouses (paga éme), and 
owe obedience and respect to the first. 

Polygamy, abolished by the gospel, and contrary in 
itself to the happiness and concord of families, may, perhaps, 
be regarded as a blessing to the Tartars. Considering the 
present state of society with them, it is, as it were, a barrier 
opposed to libertinism and corruption of morals. Celibacy 
being imposed on the lamas, and the class of those who shave 
the head and live in lamaseries being so numerous, it is 


184 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


easy to conceive what disorders would arise from this multi- 
plication of young women without support and abandoned 
to themselves if girls could not be placed in families in the 
quality of second wives. 

Divorce is very frequent among the Tartars. It takes 
place without any participation of the civil or ecclesiastical 
authorities. The husband who repudiates his wife has not 
even occasion for a pretext to justify his conduct. He sends 
her back, without any formality, to her parents, and contents 
himself with a message that he does not require her any 
longer. This proceeding is in accordance with Tartar man- 
ners, and does not offend anyone. The husband thinks him- 
self entitled to the privilege in consideration of the oxen, 
sheep, and horses he was obliged to give as nuptial presents. 
The parents of the repudiated wife do not complain at hav- 
ing their daughter back; she resumes her place in the family 
till another husband presents himself, in which case they even 
rejoice over the profit they make by thus selling the same 
merchandise twice over. 

In Tartary the women lead an independent life enough. 
They are far from being oppressed and kept in servitude, as 
with other Asiatic nations. They may come and go at their 
pleasure, ride out on horseback, and pay each other visits 
from tent to tent. Instead of the soft, languishing physiog- 
nomy of the Chinese women, the Tartar woman presents in 
her bearing and manners a power and force well in accord- 
ance with her active life and nomad habits, and her attire 
augments the effect of her masculine, haughty mien. 

Large leather boots and a long green or violet robe 
fastened round the waist by a black or blue girdle constitute 
her dress, except that sometimes she wears over the great 
robe a small coat, resembling in form our waistcoats, but very 
large and coming down to the hips. The hair of the Tartar 
women is divided in two tresses, tied up in taffetas and hang- 


THE FEMININE COSTUME 185 


ing down upon the bosom; their luxury consists in ornament- 
ing the girdle and hair with spangles of gold and silver, 
pearls, coral, and a thousand other toys, the form and qual- 
ity of which it would be difficult for us to define, as we had 
neither opportunity, nor taste, nor patience to pay serious 
attention to these futilities. 


= 


— 


BARBAROUS LAMANESQUE CEREMONY. 


CHAPTER Vaa7 


Tue Tartar who had just taken his leave had informed us 
that at a short distance from the caverns we should find in 
a vale the finest pasturages in the whole country of the Or- 
tous. We resolved to depart. It was near noon already when 
we started. The sky was clear, the sun brilliant; but the tem- 
perature, still affected by the storm of the preceding day, 
was cold and sharp. After having travelled for nearly two 
hours over a sandy soil, deeply furrowed by the streams of 
rain, we entered, on a sudden, a valley whose smiling, fer- 
tile aspect singularly contrasted with all that we had hitherto 
seen among the Ortous. In the centre flowed an abundant 
rivulet. whose sources were lost in the sand; and on both 


ORDEAL BY SMOKE 187 


sides, the hills, which rose like an amphitheatre, were covered 
with pasturage and clumps of shrubs. 

Though it was still early, we gave up all idea of con- 
tinuing our journey that day. The place was too beautiful 
to be passed by; besides, the north wind had risen, and the air 
became intolerably cold. We pitched out tent, therefore, in 
a corner sheltered by the hills. From the interior of the 
tent our view extended, without obstruction, down the valley, 
and we were thus enabled to watch our animals without mov- 
ing. 

After sunset the violence of the wind increased, and 
the cold became more and more intense. We thought it ad- 
visable to take some measures of security. Whilst Samdad- 
chiemba piled up large stones to consolidate the borders of 
the tent, we went about the adjacent hills and made, by aid 
of a hatchet, an abundant provision of fuel. As soon as we 
had taken our tea and our daily broth, we went to sleep. But 
sleep did not last long; the cold became so severe that it soon 
roused us. “ We can’t remain so,” said the Dchiahour; “ if 
we don’t want to die of cold on our goatskins, we must get up 
and make a large fire.”” Samdadchiemba’s words were full 
of sense; it was not advisable to sleep at such a time, and ac- 
cordingly we rose and added to our usual dress the great 
sheepskin robes that we had bought at Blue Town. 

Our fire of roots and green branches was hardly lighted 
when we felt our eyes, as it were, calcined by the biting acid 
influence of a thick smoke which filled the tent. We opened 
the door; but as this gave admission to the wind without 
getting rid of the smoke, we were soon obliged to shut it 
again. Samdadchiemba was not in any way molested by the 
thick smoke, which stifled us and drew burning tears from 
our eyes. He laughed without pity at seeing us crouched by 
the fire, our heads bending over our knees, and our faces 
buried in both hands. “ My spiritual fathers,” he said, “ your 


188 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


eyes are large and bright, but they cannot endure a little 
smoke; mine are small and ugly, but, never mind, they per- 
form their service very well.” The jests of our camel-driver 
were not much adapted to cheer us up; we suffered dread- 
fully. Yet, amid our tribulations, we saw occasion to feel our 
happiness to be very great. We could not reflect without grati- 
tude upon the goodness of Providence, which had led us to 
caves, whose great value we now fully appreciated. If we had 
not been able to dry our clothes, if we had been surprised by 
the cold in the piteous state in which the storm had left us, we 
certainly could not have lived long; we should have been 
frozen with our clothes in one immovable block. 


From Arctic Cold to the Warmth of Spring. 


We did not think it prudent to proceed amid such severe 
cold, and to leave an encampment where at least our animals 
got sufficient herbage to browse upon and where fuel was 
abundant. Towards noon, the weather having grown milder, 
we went out to cut wood on the hills. On our way we observed 
that our animals had left the pasturage and collected on the 
banks of the rivulet. We at once conceived that they were 
tormented by thirst and that, the stream being frozen, they 
could not quench it. We bent our steps to them and found, in 
fact, the camels eagerly licking the surface of the ice, while 
the horse and the mule were kicking upon it with their hard 
hoofs. The hatchet we had brought with us to cut wood served 
to break the ice and to dig a small pond, where our animals 
could quench their thirst. 

Towards evening, the cold having resumed its intensity, 
we adopted a plan for enabling us to obtain a better sleep 
than we had in the preceding night. Until morning the time 
was divided into three watches, and each of us was charged 
in turns with keeping up a large fire in the tent, while the 
others slept. Thus we did not feel much of the cold and slept 
in peace, without fear of setting our linen house on fire. 


A LAMA WHO CUTS OPEN HIS ABDOMEN 189 


After two days of horrible cold the wind abated, and we 
resolved to proceed on our way. It was only with great diffi- 
culty that we got down our tent. The first nail that we tried 
to draw out broke like glass under the hammer. The sandy, 
humid soil on which we had made our encampment was so 
frozen that the nails stuck in it as if they had been encrusted 
in stone. To uproot them we were obliged to wet them 
several times with boiling water. 

At the time of our departure the temperature was so mild 
that we were fain to take off our skin coats and to pack them 
up until further occasion. Nothing is more frequent in Tartary 
than these sudden changes of temperature. Sometimes the 
mildest weather is abruptly followed by the most horrible 
frost. All that is needed for this is the falling of snow and 
the subsequent rise of the north wind. Anyone not inured to 
these sudden changes of the atmosphere and not provided, in 
travelling, with well-furred robes is often exposed to dread- 
ful accidents. In the north of Mongolia especially, it is not 
unusual to find travellers frozen to death amidst the desert. 


A Lama who Cuts Open His Abdomen. 


On the fifteenth day of the new moon we came upon 
numerous caravans, following, like ourselves, the direction 
from east to west. The road was filled with men, women, 
and children, riding on camels or oxen. They were all re- 
pairing, they said, to the Lamasery of Rache-Tchurin. When 
they had asked whether our journey had the same object, 
they were surprised at receiving an answer in the negative. 
These numerous pilgrims, the astonishment they showed 
upon hearing that we were not going to the Lamasery of 
Rache-Tchurin, excited our curiosity. At the turn of a defile 
we overtook an old lama, who, laden with a heavy pack, 
seemed to make his way with great labour and pain. 
“ Brother,” said we, “ you are old; your black hairs are not 
so numerous as the grey. Doubtless your fatigue must be 


190 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


extreme. Place your burden upon one of our camels; that will 
relieve you a little.” Upon hearing these words the old man 
prostrated himself before us, in order to express his grati- 
tude. We made a camel kneel, and Samdadchiemba added 
to our baggage that of the lama. So soon as the pilgrim was 
relieved from the weight which had oppressed him, his walk 
became more elastic, and an expression of satisfaction was 
diffused over his countenance. “ Brother,” said we, “ we are 
from the West, and the affairs of your country not being 
well known to us, we are astonished at finding so many pil- 
grims here in the desert.” “ We are all going to Rache- 
Tchurin,” replied he, in accents full of emotion. “ Doubt- 
less,” said we, “some grand solemnity calls you together? ” 
“Yes, tomorrow will be a great day; a lama Bo&é will 
manifest his power: kill himself, yet not die.” We at once 
understood what solemnity it was that thus attracted the 
Ortous-Tartars. A lama was to cut himself open, take out his 
entrails and place them before him, and then resume his 
previous condition. This spectacle, so cruel and disgusting, 
is very common in the lamaseries of Tartary. The Bokté 
who is to manifest his power, as the Mongols phrase it, pre- 
pares himself for the formidable operation by many days? 
fasting and prayer, pending which he must abstain from all 
communication whatever with mankind and observe the most 
absolute silence. When the appointed day is come, the multi- 
tude of pilgrims assemble in the great court of the lamasery, 
where an altar is raised in front of the temple gate. At length 
the Bokté appears. He advances gravely, amid the acclama- 
tions of the crowd, seats himself upon the altar, and takes 
from his girdle a large knife, which he places upon his knees. 
At his feet numerous lamas, ranged in a circle, commence the 
terrible invocations of this frightful ceremony. As the reci- 
tation of the prayers proceeds, you see the Boksé trembling 
in everv limb and gradually working himself up into phren- 


OTHER ASTONISHING PRACTICES I9I 


etic convulsions. The lamas themselves become excited; their 
Voices are raised; their song observes no order and at last 
becomes a mere confusion of yelling and outcry. Then the 
Bokté suddenly throws aside the scarf which envelops him, 
unfastens his girdle, and, seizing the sacred knife, slits open 
his stomach in one long cut. While the blood flows in every 
direction, the multitude prostrate themselves before the 
terrible spectacle, and the enthusiast is interrogated about all 
sorts of hidden things, as to future events, as to the destiny 
of certain personages. The replies of the Bofté to all these 
questions are regarded by everybody as oracles. 

When the devout curiosity of the numerous pilgrims 
is satisfied, the lamas resume, but now calmly and gravely, 
the recitation of their prayers. The Bokté takes, in his right 
hand, blood from his wound, raises it to his mouth, breathes 
thrice upon it, and then throws it into the air, with loud cries, 
He next passes his hand rapidly over his wound, closes it, 
and everything after a while resumes its pristine condition, 
no trace remaining of the diabolical operation, except ex- 
treme prostration. The Bok¢é once more rolls his scarf round 
him, recites in a low voice a short prayer; then all is over, 
and the multitude disperse, with the exception of a few of 
the especially devout, who remain to contemplate and to adore 
the blood-stained altar which the saint has quitted. 

These horrible ceremonies are of frequent occurrence in 
the great lamaseries of Tartary and Thibet. 


Other Astonishing Practices, 


It is not every lama that can perform miraculous opera- 
tions. Those who have the fearful power to cut themselves 
open, for example, are never found in the higher ranks of 
the lama hierachy. They are generally lay lamas of indiffer- 
ent character, and little esteemed by their comrades. The reg- 
ular lamas generally make no scruple to avow their horror 


192 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


of the spectacle. In their eyes all these operations are wicked 
and diabolical. Good lamas, they say, are incapable of per- 
forming such acts, and should not even desire to attain the 
impious talent. 

Though these demoniac operations are, in ‘general, de- 
cried in well-regulated lamaseries, yet the superiors do not 
prohibit them. On the contrary, there are certain days in the 
year set apart for the disgusting spectacle. Interest is, doubt- 
less, the only motive which could induce the Grand Lamas 
to favour actions which in their conscience they reprove. The 
fact is that these diabolical displays are an infallible means 
of collecting together a swarm of stupid and ignorant de- 
votees, who communicate renown to the lamasery and enrich 
it with the numerous offerings which the Tartars never fail 
to bring with them on such occasions. © 

Cutting open the abdomen is one of the most famous 
sié-fa (supernaturalisms) possessed by the lamas. There are 
others of the same class, less imposing, but more common; 
these are practised in people’s houses, privately, and not at 
the great solemnities of the lamaseries. For example, they 
heat irons red-hot and then lick them with impunity; they 
make incisions in various parts of the body, which an instant 
afterwards leave no trace behind, &c. All these operations 
have to be preceded by the recitation of some prayer. 

We knew a lama who, according to everyone’s belief, 
could fill a vase with water by the mere agency of a prayer; 
but we could never induce him to try the experiment in our 
presence. He told us that as we held not the same faith with 
him, the experiment in our company would not be merely 
fruitless, but would expose him to serious danger. One day, 
however, he recited to us the prayer of his szé-fa. It was 
brief, but we readily recognized in it a direct appeal to the as- 
sistance of the demon. “1 know thee, thou knowest me ”; 
thus it ran. “ Come, old friend, do what I ask of thee. Bring 


PILGRIMAGE BY PROSTRATION 193 


water and fill the vase I hold out to thee. To fill a vase with 
water, what is that to thy vast power? I know thou chargest 
dear for a vase of water; but never mind; do what I ask of 
thee and fill the vase I present to thee. Some time hence we’ll 
come to a reckoning; on the appointed day thou shalt receive 
thy due.” It sometimes happens that the appeal remains 
without effect; in such cases praying is discontinued, and the 
being invoked is assailed with insults and imprecations. 
The famous sié-fa that was now attracting so large a 
number of pilgrims to the Lamasery of Rache-Tchurin in- 
spired us with the idea of repairing thither also and of neu- 
tralizing by our prayers the Satanic invocations of the lamas. 


Pilgrimage by Prostration. 


Next morning at day-break we were in motion. We had 
not proceeded far when we discovered before us, outlined 
on the yellow ground of a sandy hill, several large buildings, 
surrounded with a multitude of white huts. This was the 
Lamasery of Rache-Tchurin, which, as we approached it, 
seemed to us a well-built, well-kept place. The three Bud- 
dhist temples which rise from the centre of the establishment 
are of elegant, of majestic construction. The entrance to the 
principal temple is through a square tower of colossal propor- 
tions, at each angle of which is a monstrous dragon elabo- 
rately carved in stone. We traversed the lamasery from one 
end to the other, along the chief streets. There was through- 
out religious and solemn silence. The only persons we saw 
were a few lamas enveloped in their large red scarfs, who, 
after giving us the salutation of the day in a tone scarce above 
a whisper, gravely continued their melancholy walk. 

Towards the western extremity of the lamasery Sam- 
dadchiemba’s little mule shied and then dashed off at a gal- 
lop, followed in its irregular flight by the two baggage camels. 
The animals on which we were mounted were equally 


194 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


alarmed. All this disorder was occasioned by a young lama, 
who was stretched at full length in the middle of the street, 
performing a rite in great vogue among the Buddhists, which 
consists in making the circuit of a lamasery prostrating your- 
self, with your forehead to the ground, at every single step 
you make. Sometimes the number of devotees performing 
together this painful pilgrimage is perfectly prodigious; they 
follow each other, in Indian file, along a narrow path which 
encircles the entire lamasery and its appendant buildings. 
Anyone who deviates in the slightest degree from the pre- 
scribed line is considered to have failed in his devotion, and 
loses all the fruit he would otherwise have derived from his 
previous toil. Where the lamasery is of any extent, the dev- 
otees have hard work to get through the ceremony in the 
course of a long day; so that the pilgrims who have under- 
taken this exercise and have started early in the morning 
think themselves lucky if they can complete the operation by 
nightfall. For the pilgrimage must be performed without — 
intermission, so strictly that the pilgrims are not allowed to 
stop for a moment even to take a little nourishment. If after 
commencing the rite you do not complete it offhand, it does 
not count; you have acquired no merit and you are not to 
expect any spiritual profit. 

Each prostration must be perfect, so that the body shall 
be stretched flat along the ground, and the forehead touch 
the earth, the arms being spread out before you and the hands 
joined, as if in prayer. Before rising, the pilgrim describes 
each time a semi-circle on the ground by means of a goat’s 
horn which he holds in either hand, the line being completed 
by drawing the arm down to the side. You cannot but feel in- 
finite compassion when you look upon these wretched crea- 
tures, their faces and clothes all covered with dust or mud. 
The most inclement weather will not check their intrepid de- 
votion; they continue their prostrations amid snow and rain 
and the most piercing cold. 


CURIOUS METHODS OF PRAYER 195 


_ Curious Methods of Prayer. 


There are various modes of performing the pilgrimage 
round a lamasery. Some pilgrims do not prostrate themselves 
at all, but carry, instead, a load of prayer-books, the exact 
weight of which is prescribed them by the Great Lama, and 
the burden of which is so oppressive at times that you see old 
men, women, and children absolutely staggering under it. 
When, however, they have successfully completed the cir- 
cuit, they are deemed to have recited all the prayers con- 
tained in the books they have carried. Others content them- 
selves with simply walking the circuit, telling the beads of 
their long chaplets, or constantly turning a sort of wheel, 
placed in the right hand, which whirls about with inconceiva- 
ble rapidity. This instrument is called Tchu-Kor (turning 
prayer). You see in every brook a number of these T'chu- 
Kor, which are turned by the current and in their movement 
are reputed to be praying, night and day, for the benefit of 
those who erect them. The Tartars suspend them over the 
fireplace, and these in their movements are supposed to pray 
for the peace and prosperity of the whole family, emblemed 
by the hearth. The movement itself is effected by the thor- 
ough draught occasioned by the openings at the top of the 
tent. 

The Buddhists have another mode of simplifying pil- 
grimages and devotional rites. In all the great lamaseries you 
find at short intervals figures in the form of barrels, turning 
upon an axle. The material of these figures is a thick board, 
composed of infinite sheets of paper pasted together, upon 
which are written in Thibetian characters the prayers most re- 
puted throughout the country. Those who have not the taste, 
or the zeal, or the strength to carry huge boards of books on 
their Bien iders, or to prostrate themselves, step after step, 
in the dust and mire, or to walk round the lamasery in winter’s 
cold or summer’s heat, have recourse to the simple and 


196 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


expeditious medium of the prayer barrel. All they have to do 
is to set it in motion; it then turns of itself for a long time, 
the devotees drinking, eating, or sleeping, while the compla- 
cent mechanism is turning prayers for them. 

One day, on approaching a prayer barrel, we found two 
lamas quarrelling furiously and just on the point of coming 
to blows, the occasion being the fervour of each for prayer. 
One of them, having set the prayer automaton in motion, had 
quietly returned to his cell. As he was entering it, he turned 
his head, doubtless to enjoy the spectacle of the fine prayers 
he had set to work for himself, but to his infinite disgust he 
saw a colleague stopping his prayers and about to turn on 
the barrel on his own account. Indignant at this pious fraud, 
he ran back and stopped his competitor’s prayers. Thus it 
went on for some time, the one turning on, the other stopping 
the barrel, without a word said on either side. At last, how- 
ever, their patience exhausted, they came to high words; from 
words they proceeded to menaces, and it would doubtless 
have come to a fight had not an old lama, attracted by the 
uproar, interposed words of peace, and himself put 
the automaton in motion for the joint benefit of both 
parties. 

Besides the pilgrims whose devotion is exercised within 
or about the lamaseries, you find many who have undertaken 
fearfully long journeys, which they execute with a prostra- _ 
tion at every step. Sad and lamentable is it to see these un- 
happy victims of error enduring to no purpose such terrible 
and painful labours; one’s heart is pierced with grief, and 
one’s soul impressed with yearning for the day when these 
poor Tartars shall consecrate to the service of the true God 
that religious energy which they daily waste upon a vain and 
lying creed. We had hoped to profit by the solemnities at 
Rache-Tchurin to announce the true faith to the Ortous; 
but such was doubtless not the will of God, since He had per- 


NITRE AND SALT 197 


mitted us to lose our way on the very day which seemed most 
favourable for our project. 


The Country of Nitre and Salt. 


At a short distance from Rache-Tchurin we reached a 
road well marked out, and covered with travellers. It was 
not, however, devotion that had set these people in motion, 
as it had the pilgrims whom we saw at the lamasery; mere 
matter of business was leading them towards the Dabsoun- 
Noor (the Salt Lake), celebrated throughout western Man- 
churia, and which supplies with salt, not only the adjacent 
Tartars, but also several provinces of the Chinese Empire. 

For a day’s journey before you reach Dabsoun-Noor 
the soil changes by degrees its form and aspect; losing its 
yellow tint, it becomes insensibly white, as though thinly 
covered with snow. The earth, swelling in every direction, 
forms innumerable hillocks, cone-shaped, and of a regularity 
so perfect that you might suppose them to have been con- 
structed by the hand of man. Sometimes they are grouped in 
heaps, one on the other, like pears piled on a plate; they are 
of all sizes, some but just created, others old, exhausted, 
and falling to decay. Around these excrescences grow creep- 
ing thorns, long-pointed, without flowers or leaves, which, 
intertwining spirally, surmount them with a sort of net- 
work cap. These thorns are never found elsewhere than about 
these hillocks; upon those of more recent growth they are 
firm, vigorous, and full of shoots. Upon the elder elevations 
they are dried up, calcined by the nitre, brittle, and in shreds. 

As you look upon these numerous mounds, covered with 
a thick efflorescence of nitre, it is obvious to your sense that 
beneath the surface, and at no great depth, some great chemi- 
cal operation is in progress. Springs, generally so rare in 
the Ortous country, are here of frequent occurrence, but 
the water is for the most part excessively salt. Here and there, 


198 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


however, by the very side of a brackish pool, there is a spring 
of soft, sweet, delicious water; all such are indicated to 
travellers by a small flag, fluttering from the end of a long 
pole. 

Dabsoun-Noor is not so much a lake as a reservoir of 
mineral salt, mixed with nitrous efflorescence. The latter, in 
colour pale white, and crumbling between the fingers, is 
easily distinguishable from the salt, which is of a grey tint 
and glitters like crystal when broken. Dabsoun-Noor is about 
twenty /is in circumference. Around it, at intervals, are the 
tents occupied by the Mongols who work it, and the Chinese 
who have thrust themselves in as partners. It were difficult 
indeed to find any description of industry or commerce within 
a certain range of their own country in which the Chinese 
do not contrive to have a hand. The manipulation to which the 
salt is subjected requires neither great labour nor great science. 
All the workers do is to pick it up as it comes in the reservoir, 
to pile it, and, when the heap is of a certain size, to cover 
it with a thin coating of potter’s earth. When the salt has 
sufficiently purified itself, the Tartars convey it to the near- 
est Chinese mart and exchange it for tea, tobacco, brandy, and 
other commodities. In the locality itself salt is of no value: at 
every step you see lumps of it, sometimes of remarkable 
purity. We filled a bag with these for our own use and for that 
of the camels, which are all very fond of salt. We traversed 
Dabsoun-Nour throughout its breadth from east to west, 
and we had to take the utmost precaution as we proceeded 
over its loose, and at times almost moving, soil. The Tartars 
recommended us not to deviate in the least from the path 
we should find marked out, and by all means to avoid any 
places where we should see the water bubbling up, for there, 
they informed us, were gulfs which they had frequently en- 
deavoured to sound, but without result. This statement in- 
duced us to believe that there is a zoor, or lake, here, but that 


THE CAMELS OF TARTARY 199 


it is underground, the place called Dabsoun-Noor being 
merely the covering or roof of the lake, composed of the 
saline and saltpetrous matter produced by the constant evap- 
oration of the subterranean waters. Foreign matter, brought 
by the wind and consolidated by the rain, would in the lapse 
of time form a crust upon such a roof strong enough to bear 
the caravans that incessantly traverse Dabsoun-Noor. 


Remarks on the Camels of Tartary. 


This great salt-mine seems to pervade with its in- 
fluence the whole Ortous district, throughout whose extent 
the water is brackish, the soil arid, and the surface encrusted 
with saline matter. This absence of rich pasturage and 
fresh water is very adverse to the growth of cattle; but the 
camel, whose robust and hardy temperament adapts itself 
to the most sterile regions, affords compensation to the Tar- 
tars of the Ortous. This animal, a perfect treasure to the 
dwellers in the desert, can remain a fortnight, or even a 
month, without eating or drinking. However wretched the 
land may be on which it is put to feed, it can always find 
wherewith to satisfy its hunger, especially if the soil be im- 
pregnated with salt or nitre. Things that no other animal will 
touch, to it are welcome; briars and thorns, dry wood itself, 
supply it with efficient food. 

Though it costs so little to keep, the camel is of an 
utility inconceivable to those who are not acquainted with 
the countries in which Providence has placed it. Its ordinary 
load is from seven to eight hundred pounds, and it can carry 
this load ten leagues a day. Those, indeed, which are em- 
ployed to carry dispatches are expected to travel eighty 
leagues per diem, but then they only carry the dispatch- 
bearer. In several countries of Tartary the carriages of the 
kings and princes are drawn by camels, and sometimes they 
are harnessed to palankeens, but this can only be done in the 


200 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


level country. The fleshy nature of their feet does not per- 
mit them to climb mountains when they have a carriage or 
litter of any sort to draw after them. 

The training of the young camel is a business requiring 
great care and attention. For the first week of its life it can 
neither stand nor suck without some helping hand. Its long 
neck is then of such excessive flexibility and fragility that it 
runs the risk of dislocating it unless someone is at hand to 
sustain the head while it sucks the teats of its dam. 

The camel, born to servitude, seems impressed from its 
birth with a sense of the yoke it is destined to bear through 
life. You never see the young camel playing and frolicking 
about, as you see kids, colts, and other young animals. It is 
always grave, melancholy, and slow in its movements, which 
it never hastens unless under compulsion. In the night, and 
often in the day also, it sends forth a mournful cry, like 
that of an infant in pain. It seems to feel that joy or recrea- 
tion is not within its portion, that its inevitable career is 
forced labour and long fastings, until death shall relieve 
it. 

The maturation of the camel is a long affair. It cannot 
carry even a single rider until its third year, and it is not in 
full vigour until it is eight years old. Its trainers then begin to 
try it with loads, gradually heavier and heavier. If it can 
rise with its burden, this is a proof that it can carry it through- 
out the journey. When that journey is only of brief dura- 
tion, they sometimes load the animal in excess, and then 
they aid it to rise by means of bars and levers. The camel’s 
capacity for labour endures for a long time. Provided that 
at certain periods of the year it is allowed a short holiday 
for pasturing at its leisure, it will continue its service for 
fully fifty years. 

Nature has provided the camel with no means of de- 
fence against other animals, unless you may so consider its 


THE CAMELS OF TARTARY 201 


piercing, prolonged cry, and its huge, shapeless, ugly frame, 
which resembles, at a distance, a ‘heap of ruins. It seldom 
kicks, and when it does, it almost as seldom inflicts any in- 
jury. Its soft, fleshy foot cannot wound, or even bruise you; 
neither can the camel bite an antagonist. In fact, its only prac- 
tical means of defence against man or beast is a sort of vehe- 
ment sneeze, wherewith it discharges, from nose and mouth, 
a mass of filth against the object which it seeks to intimidate 
or to annoy. 

Yet the entire male camels — bore, as the Tartars call 
them (temen being the generic appellation of the animal) — 
are very formidable during the twelfth moon, which is their 
rutting time. At this period their eyes are inflamed, an oily, 
fetid humour exhales from their heads, their mouths are 
constantly foaming, and they eat and drink absolutely noth- 
ing whatever. In this state of excitement they rush at what- 
ever presents itself, man or beast, with a fierceness of precipi- 
tation which it is impossible to avoid or to resist; and when 
they have overthrown the object they have pursued, they 
pound it beneath the weight of their bodies. The epoch 
passed, the camel resumes its ordinary gentleness and the 
routine of its laborious career. 

The females do not produce young until their sixth or 
seventh year; the period of gestation is fourteen months. 
The Tartars geld most of their male camels, which by this 
operation acquire a greater development of strength, height, 
and size. Their voices become at the same time thinner and 
lower, in some instances wholly lost; and the hair 1s shorter 
and finer than that of the entire camels. 

The awkward aspect of the camel, the excessive stench 
of its breath, its heavy, ungraceful movements, its project- 
ing thare-lips, the callosities which disfigure various parts of 
its body, all contribute to render its appearance repulsive; 
yet its extreme gentleness and docility, and the services it 


202 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


renders to man, render it of pre-eminent utility and make 
us forget its deformity. 

Notwithstanding the apparent softness of its feet, the 
camel can walk upon the most rugged ground, upon sharp 
flints, or thorns, or roots of trees, without wounding itself. 
et if too long a journey is continuously imposed upon it, 
if after a certain march you do not give it a few days’ rest, ae 
outer skin wears off, the flesh is bared, and the blood fives 
Under such distressing circumstances the Tartars make sheep- 
skin shoes for it, but this assistance is unavailing without rest; 
for if you attempt to force the camel to proceed, it lies down, 
and you are compelled either to remain with or abandon it. 

There is nothing which the camel so dreads as wet, 
marshy ground. The instant it places its feet upon anything 
like mud, it slips and slides and generally, after staggering 
about like a drunken man, falls heavily on its sides. 

When about to repose, it kneels down, folds its fore- 
legs symmetrically under its body, and stretches out its long 
neck before it on the ground. In this position it looks just like 
a monstrous snail. 

Every year towards the close of spring the camel sheds 
its hair, every individual bristle of which disappears before 
a single sprout of the new stock comes up. For twenty days the 
animal remains completely bare, as though it had been closely 
shaved all over, from the top of the head to the extremity of 
the tail. At this juncture, it is excessively sensitive to cold or 
wet; and you see it, at the slightest chillness in the air or the 
least drop of rain, shivering and shaking in every limb, like 
a man without clothes exposed on the snow. By degrees the 
new hair shows itself, in the form of fine, soft, curling wool, 
which gradually becomes a long, thick fur, capable of re- 
sisting the extremest inclemency of the weather. The great- 
est delight of the animal is to walk in the teeth of the north 
wind, or to stand motionless on the summit of a hill, beaten 


THE CAMELS OF TARTARY 203 


by the storm and inhaling the icy wind. Some naturalists say 
that the camel cannot exist in cold countries; these writers 
must have wholly forgotten the Tartarian camels, which, 
on the contrary, cannot endure the least heat, and which cer- 
tainly could not exist in Arabia. 

Tihe hair of an ordinary camel weighs about ten pounds. 
It is sometimes finer than silk, and always longer than sheep’s 
wool. The hair growing below the neck and on the legs of 
the entire camels is rough, bushy, and in colour black, whereas 
that of the ordinary camel is red, grey, and white. The Tar- 
tars make no sort of use of it. In the places where the animals 
pasture, you see great sheets of it, looking like dirty rags, 
driven about by the wind, until they are collected in shel- 
tered corners, in the hillsides. The utmost use the Tartars 
make of it is to twist some of it into cord, or into a sort of can- 
vas, of which they construct sacks and carpets. 

The milk of the camel is excellent and supplies large 
quantities of butter and cheese. The flesh is hard, unsavoury, 
and little esteemed by the Tartars. They use the hump, how- 
ever, which, cut into slices and dissolved in tea, serves the 
purpose of butter. It is known that Heliogabalus had camel’s 
flesh served up at his banquets and that he was very fond 
of camel’s feet. We cannot speak as to the latter dish, which 
the Roman Emperor piqued himself upon having invented, 
but we can distinctly affirm that camel’s flesh is detestable. 


MONGOL BUTCHER. 


CHAP TE Rat 


THE environs of the Dabsoun-Noor abound in flocks of goats 
and sheep. These animals like to browse on the furze and 
thorny bushes, the sole vegetation of these barren steppes; 
they especially delight in those nitrous efflorescences which 
are found here on all sides in the utmost abundance. The 
soil, miserable as it is in other respects, seems very favour- 
able to the growth of these animals, which enter largely into 
the consumption of the Tartars, constituting indeed the basis 
of their food. If bought on the spot, they are of very moder- 
ate price. As we calculated that a pound of meat would cost 
us less than a pound of flour, we resolved, as a matter of econ- 
omy, to buy a sheep. The thing was not difficult to find; but as 
it would of course oblige us to stop, at least for a day, we 
waited till we should come to some place not quite barren, 
where our animals could find some pasturage to browse 
upon. 


THE LAMA’S SHEEP 205 


Two days after crossing Dabsoun-Noor we entered a 
long, narrow valley, where some Mongol families had sta- 
tioned themselves. The earth was covered with a close herb, 
which in form and character had much resemblance to thyme. 
Our beasts, as they proceeded, browsed furtively, right and 
left, on this plant, and seemed to be very fond of it. This 
new pasturage gave us the idea of encamping on the spot. Not 
far from a tent, a lama was sitting on a hillock, making ropes 
with camel’s hair. “ Brother,” said we as we approached 
him, “ the flock upon that hill doubtless belongs to you. Will 
you sell us a sheep? ” “ Certainly,” he answered, “I will let 
you have an excellent sheep; as to the price, we shall not 
quarrel about that. We men of prayer are not like mer- 
chants.”” He indicated to us a spot near his own tent, and un- 
loaded our beasts. The entire family of the lama, when they 
heard the cries of our camels, hastened to assist us to encamp. 
We, indeed, were not allowed to do anything to it; for our 
new friends took delight in making themselves useful, in un- 
saddling the beasts, pitching the tent, and putting our bag- 
gage in order within. 

The young lama who had received us with so much 
kindness, after having unsaddled the horse and the mule, 
perceived that both these beasts were hurt a little on the 
back. “* Brothers,” he said, ‘‘ here is a bad business; and as 
you are upon a long journey, it must be remedied or you will 
not be able to go on.” So saying, he took the knife which 
hung from his girdle, sharpened it with rapidity upon his 
boot-tops, took our saddles to pieces, examined the rough 
parts of the wood, and pared them away on both sides till 
he had removed the slightest unevenness, He then put to- 
gether again, with wonderful skill, all the pieces of the sad- 
dles, and returned them to us. “ That will do,” said he; 
‘now you may travel in peace.” This operation was effected 
rapidly and in the readiest manner possible. The lama was 


206 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


then about to fetch the sheep; but, as it was already late, 
we said it was unnecessary, for that we should remain a whole 
day in his valley. 

Next morning, before we were awake, the lama opened 
the door of our tent, laughing so loud that he aroused us. 
“ Ah,” said he, “I see plainly that you do not intend to 
depart today. The sun is already very high, and you sleep 
still.” We rose quickly, and as soon as we were dressed, the 
lama spoke of the sheep. “ Come to the flock,” he said; “ you 
may choose at your pleasure.” “ No, go by yourself, and 
select a sheep for us yourself. At present we have an occupa- 
tion. With us lamas of the western sky it is a rule to pray as 
soon as we rise.” “ Oh, what a fine thing! ” said the lama; 
“oh, the holy rules of the West! ” His admiration, how- 
ever, did not make him forget his little affair of business. He 
mounted his horse and rode towards a flock of sheep which 
we saw undulating upon the slope of a hill. ~ 

We had not yet finished our prayers when we heard the 
Tartar returning at. full gallop. He had fastened the sheep 
to the back of his saddle, like a portmanteau. Hardly ar- 
rived at the door of our tent, he dismounted; and in the 
twinkling of an eye he had put upon its four legs the poor 
sheep, quite astounded at the ride it had been favoured with. 
“‘ That is the sheep; is it not fine? Does it suit you? ” “ Ad- 
mirably. What is the price? ” “One ounce; is that too 
much? ” Considering the size of the animal, we thought the 
price moderate. “ You ask an ounce; here is an ingot, which 
is just of the weight you require. Sit down for a moment; we 
will fetch our scales, and you shall ascertain whether this 
piece of silver really weighs an ounce.” At these words the 
lama drew back and cried, stretching out both hands towards 
us: “ Above there is a heaven, below there is the earth, and 
Buddha is the lord of all things. He wills that men behave 
towards each other like brothers; you are of the West, I am 


THE LAMA’S SHEEP 207 


of the East. Is that any reason why the intercourse between 
us should not be frank and honourable? You have not cheap- 
ened my sheep: I take your money without weighing it.” 
“ An excellent principle,” said we. “ As you will not weigh 
the money, pray sit, nevertheless, for a moment; we will 
take a cup of tea together and talk over a little matter.” “I 
know what you mean; neither you nor I may cause the trans- 
migration of this living being. We must find a layman who 
knows how to kill sheep. Is it not so? ” and without awaiting 
an answer the added: “ Another thing; from your appearance, 
one may easily guess that you are no great hands at cutting up 
sheep and preparing them.” “ You are not mistaken,” we an- 
swered, laughing. “‘ Well, keep the sheep tied to your tent; 
and for the rest, rely upon me; I shall be back in a minute.” 
He mounted his horse, went off at full gallop, and disap- 
peared in a bend of the vale. 

According to his promise, the lama soon returned. He 
went straight to his tent, tied his horse to a post, took off his 
saddle, bridle, and halter, gave it a cut with his whip, and so 
sent it off to pasture. He went into his tent for a little while 
and then appeared with all the members of his family; that 
is to say, his old mother and two younger brothers. They ad- 
vanced slowly towards our tent, in truly ridiculous fashion, 
just as if they were going to remove all their furniture. The 
lama carried on his head a large pot, which covered him as 
with an enormous hat. His mother had on her back a large 
basket, filled with argols. The two young Mongols followed 
with a trivet, an iron spoon, and several other minor kitchen 
implements. At this sight Samdadchiemba was full of joy, for 
he saw before him a whole day of poetry. 

_ When the entire atterie de cuisine was arranged in 
open air, the lama invited us, in his politeness, to go and re- 
pose in our tent for a while. He judged from our air that we 
could not, without derogation, be present at the approaching 


208 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


scene of butchering. The suggestion, however, did not meet 
our views, and we requested that if we could do so without 
inconveniencing them, we might sit down on the grass at a 
respectful distance, and with the promise that we would not 
touch anything. After some objections, perceiving that we 
were curious to be spectators, they dispensed with the eti- 
quette of the matter. 


The Little Hump-backed Butcher, 


The lama seemed anxious; he kept looking towards 
the north of the valley, as if expecting someone. “ All right,” 
he said at last, with an air of satisfaction, “ here he comes.” 
“ Who comes? Of whom do you speak? ” “I forgot to tell 
you that I had been just now to invite a layman to come who 
is very skilful in killing a sheep. There he is.” We rose and 
perceived, indeed, something moving among the heath of the 
valley. At first we could not clearly distinguish what it was, 
for though it advanced with some rapidity, the object did not 
seem to enlarge. At last the most singular person we had 
ever met with in our lives presented himself to our view. We 
were obliged to make the utmost efforts to repress the strong 
impulse to laughter that came upon us. This layman seemed 
to be about fifty years old, but his height did not exceed three 
feet. On the top of his head, which terminated like a sugar- 
loaf, rose a small tuft of badly combed hair; a grey, thin 
beard descended in disorder down his chin. Finally, two 
prominences, one on his back, the other on his breast, com- 
municated to this little butcher a perfect resemblance with 
AE sop, as he appears in various editions of the Fables of La 
Fontaine. 

The strong sonorous voice of the layman was in singu- 
lar contrast with the exiguity of his thin, stunted frame. He 
did not lose much time in saluting the company. After hav- 
ing darted his small black eyes at the sheep, which was tied 


THE HUMP—BACKED BUTCHER 209 


to one of the nails of our tent; he said: “ Is this the beast you 
wish to have put in order? ” And while feeling its tail in 
order to judge its fat, he gave it a turn, and placed it on its 
back with remarkable dexterity. He next tied together its 
legs; then, while uncovering his right arm by throwing 
back the sleeve of his leathern coat, he asked whether the 
operation was to be effected in the tent or outside. “ Out- 
side,” said we. “ Outside, very well, outside ”; so saying, he 
drew from a leathern sheath, suspended from his sash, a 
knife with a large handle, but whose blade by long use had 
become thin and narrow. After having examined for a mo- 
ment its point with his thumb, he plunged it to the hilt into 
the side of the sheep, drawing it out quite red; the sheep was 
dead, dead at once, without making any movement; not a 
single drop of blood had spouted from the wound. We were 
greatly astonished at this, and asked the little man how he 
managed to kill a sheep so very easily and quickly. “ We Tar- 
tars,” he said, “ do not kill in the same way as the Kitat; they 
cut the throat; we go straight to the heart. By our method the 
animal suffers less, and all the blood is, as it should be, re- 
tained in the interior.” 

The transmigration once operated, nobody had any 
further scruples. Our Dchiahour and the Tartar lama turned 
back their sleeves and advanced to assist the little butcher. 
The sheep was skinned with admirable celerity. Meantime 
the mother of the lama had made the two pots boil. She now 
took the entrails of the sheep, washed them pretty clean, and 
then, with the blood which she took from the interior of the 
sheep by means of a large wooden spoon, prepared some pud- 
dings, the basis of which was the never-failing oatmeal. “ Sirs 
Lamas,” said the little layman, “shall I bone the sheep? ” 
Upon our answering in the affirmative, he had the animal 
hooked upon the tent, for he was not big enough to perform 
that operation himself; he then mounted upon a large stone, 


210 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


and, passing his knife rapidly along the bones, he detached, 
in one piece, all the meat, so as to leave dangling from the 
tent a mere skeleton, clean, cleared, and nicely polished. 


A Regal Repast. 


While the little layman was, according to his expression, 
putting in order the flesh of the sheep, the rest of the com- 
pany had prepared a gala in the Tartar fashion. The young 
lama was director of the feast. “ Now,” he cried, “ let us all 
sit round; the great pot is going to be emptied.” Forthwith 
everyone sat down upon the turf. The old Mongol woman 
plunged both hands into the pot, which was boiling over, and 
drew out all the intestines — the liver, the heart, the kidneys, 
the spleen, and the bowels, stuffed with blood and oatmeal. 
In this gastronomical preparation the most remarkable thing 
was that all the intestines had been retained in their integrity, 
so that they presented themselves much as they are seen in 
the living beast. The old woman served up, or rather threw 
this splendid dish upon the lawn, which was at once our 
chair, table, plate, and, in case of need, our napkin. It is un- 
necessary to add that we used our fingers instead of forks. 
Everyone seized with his hands a portion of the bowels, 
twisted it from the mass, and devoured it without seasoning 
or salt. 

The two French missionaries were not able, despite their 
utmost willingness, to do honour to this Tartar dish. First 
we burned our fingers when we tried to touch the hot and 
smoking repast. Although our guests urged that it ought not 
to be allowed to grow cold, we waited a little, afraid of burn- 
ing our lips also. At last we tasted these puddings of sheep’s 
blood and oatmeal, but after getting down a few mouthfuls, 
we were quite satisfied. Never, perhaps, had we eaten any- 
thing so utterly tasteless and insipid. Samdadchiemba, having 
foreseen this, had withdrawn from the common dish the 


ANATOMIC AND VETERINARY SKILL 211 


liver and the kidneys, which he placed before us, with some 
salt, which he had previously crushed between two stones. 
We were thus enabled to keep pace with the company, who, 
with a devouring appetite, were swallowing the vast system 
of entrails. 

When the whole had disappeared, the old woman 
brought up the second service, by placing in the midst of us 
the large pot in which the puddings had been cooked. In- 
stantly all the members of the banquet invited each other, 
and everyone, taking from his bosom his wooden porringer, 
ladled out bumpers of a smoking, salt liquid, which they 
dignified with the pompous name of sauce. As we did not 
wish to appear eccentric, or as if we despised the Tartar 
cuisine, we did like the rest. We plunged our porringers into 
the pot, but it was only by the most laudable efforts that we 
could get down this green stuff, which gave us the idea of 
half-masticated grass. The Tartars, on the contrary, found it 
delicious, and readily reached the bottom of the extempore 
tureen, not stopping for a moment till nothing was left — not 
a drop of sauce, not an inch of pudding. 

When the feast was finished, the little layman took 
leave, receiving as his fee the four feet of the sheep. To this 
fee, fixed by the old custom of the Mongols, we added, as a 
supplement, a handful of tea-leaves, for we desired that he 
should long remember and talk to his countrymen of the 
generosity of the lamas of the western sky. 


Anatomic and Veterinary Skill of the Mongols. 


Everyone having now thoroughly regaled, our neigh- 
bours took their kitchen utensils and returned home, except 
the young lama, who said he would not leave us alone. After 
much talk about the East and the West, he took down the 
skeleton, which was still hanging at the entrance of the tent, 
and amused himself with reciting, or rather singing, the 


ie TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


nomenclature of all the bones, large and small, that com- 
pose the frame of the sheep. He perceived that our knowl- 
edge on this subject was very limited, and this extremely as- 
tonished him; and we had the greatest trouble to make him 
understand that in our country ecclesiastical studies had for 
their object more serious and important matters than the 
names and number of the bones of a sheep. 

Every Mongol knows the number, the name, and the 
position of the bones which compose the frame of animals; 
and thus they never break the bones when they are cutting up — 
an ox or a sheep. With the point of their large knife they go 
straight and at once to the juncture of the bones and separate 
them with astonishing skill and celerity. These frequent dis- 
sections, and especially the habit of being every day amongst 
their flocks, make the Tartars well acquainted with the dis- 
eases of animals, and skilful in their cure. The remedies 
which they employ internally are always simples gathered in 
the prairie, and the decoction of which they make the sick 
animals drink. For this purpose they use a large cow-horn. 
When they have contrived to insert the small end of this into 
the mouth of the animal, they pour the physic in at the other 
extremity, as through a funnel. If the beast persists in not © 
opening its mouth, the liquid is administered through the 
nostrils. Sometimes the Tartars employ a lavement in their 
treatment of the diseases of animals, but their instruments 
are still of primitive simplicity. A cow’s horn serves for the 
pipe, and the pump isa great bladder, worked by squeezing it. 

Internal remedies, however, are not very often applied; 
the Tartars make more frequent use of punctures and in- 
cisions in different parts of the body. Some of these opera- 
tions are extremely ludicrous. One day, when we had pitched 
our tent beside a Mongol dwelling, a Tartar brought to the 
chief of the family a cow, which, he said, would not eat and 
which was pining away day by day. The chief examined the 


ANATOMIC AND VETERINARY SKILL 213 


animal, opened its mouth, and rubbed its foreteeth with his 
nail. “ Fool, blockhead,” said he to the man who had come to 
ask his advice, “ why did not you come before? Your cow is 
on the verge of death; there is scarce a day’s life more in 
her. Yet there may be tried one means; I will attempt it. If 
your cow dies, you will say it is your own fault; if it recovers, 
you will regard it as a great favour from Hormousdha, op- 
erated by my skill.” He called some of his slaves and ordered 
them to keep a firm hold of the beast while he was operating 
upon it. Then he entered his tent, whence he soon returned 
armed with a nail and a great hammer. We waited with im- 
patience this strange chirurgical operation, which was to be 
performed with a nail and a hammer. While several Mon- 
gols held the cow in order to prevent its running away, the 
operator placed the nail under its belly and then drove it in 
up to the head with a violent stroke of the hammer. Next he 
seized with both hands the tail of the cow and ordered those 
who were holding it to let go. Instantly the animal that had 
been so very singularly operated upon dashed off, dragging 
after it the veterinary Tartar clinging to its tail. In this 
fashion they ran nearly a lz. The Tartar then quitted his 
victim and came quietly back to us, who were quite amazed 
at this new method of curing cows. He declared there was 
no further danger for the beast; for he had ascertained, he 
said, by the stiffness of the tail, the good effect of the fer- 
ruginous medicine he had Peinicered: 

The Tartar veterinarians sometimes perform set op- 
erations at the belly, as we have just seen; but it is more 
generally with the head, ears, temple, upper lip, and about 
the eyes that they deal. The latter operation is principally 
had recourse to in the disease which the Tartars call “ hen’s 
dung,” to which mules are greatly subject. When this disease 
breaks out, the animals leave off eating and fall into extreme 
weakness, so that they can hardly keep themselves on their 


214 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


legs; fleshy excrescences, similar to the excrements of poul- 
try, grow under the lids, in the corners of the eyes. If these 
excrescences are removed in time, the mules are saved, and 
recover by degrees their original rigour; if not, they pine for 
a few days and then die. 

Although cupping and bleeding have great place in the 
veterinary art of the Tartars, you must not suppose that they 
have at their disposal fine collections of instruments, such as 
those of European operators. Most of them have nothing but 
their ordinary knife, or the small iron awl, which they keep 
in their girdle and which they use daily to clear their pipes 
and mend their saddles and leathern boots. 

The young lama who had sold us the sheep spent a great 
part of the day in telling us anecdotes, more or less piquant 
and curious, about the veterinary science, in which he seemed 
to be very skilful. Moreover, he gave us important instruc- 
tions concerning the road we had to pursue. He settled the 
stages we ought to make and indicated the places where we 
should encamp so as to prevent our dying from thirst. We 
had still before us in the country of the Ortous a journey of 
about fourteen days; in all that time we should find neither 
rivulet, nor spring, nor cistern, but only at certain distances 
wells of an extraordinary depth, some of them distant from 
each other two days’ march, so that we should have to carry 
with us our provision of water. 


The Watering-Place. 


Next morning, after having paid our respects to the 
Tartar family, who had shown us so much kindness, we pro- 
ceeded on our way. Towards evening, when it was nearly 
time to pitch our tent, we perceived in the distance a large 
assemblage of various herds. Thinking that one of the in- 
dicated wells lay probably there, we bent our steps in the di- 
rection and soon found that we were correct in our anticipa- 


THE WATERING-PLACE 215 


tion; the water was before us. The beasts were collected from 
every quarter, waiting to be watered. We halted accordingly 
and set up our encampment. 

We had scarcely pitched our tent and arranged our 
modest kitchen when we saw several Tartar horsemen ad- 
vancing at full gallop. They were coming to draw water and 
give it to the numerous flocks that had been long awaiting 
them. There were four Mongol shepherds; while two of 
them, armed with a long rod, ran about trying to effect a 
little order among the flocks, the two others drew the water 
in a manner which greatly excited our surprise. First, the 
utensil they used by way of pail appeared to us very remark- 
able; it was the entire skin of a goat, solidly fastened at the 
four feet, the only opening being at the neck. A hoop kept 
this orifice open; a long, strong rope of camel’s hair was 
fastened at one end to the wooden handle that crossed the 
diameter of the orifice, and at the other end to the saddle of 
the horse ridden by one of the Tartars, who, when the skin 
was filled, rode off and thus hauled up the bucket to the edge 
of the well, where it was received by another man, who 
emptied its contents into the troughs. 

The well was of astonishing depth; the rope used to 
raise the bucket seemed more than two hundred feet long. 
Instead of running in a pulley, it went right over a large 
stone, in which a large groove was already made by the con- 
stant friction. Although the drawing up of the water was 
performed with great activity, it was nearly dark before all 
the flock had been watered; we then brought our five animals 
to participate in the general banquet, and the Tartars had 
the complaisance to draw water also for us; otherwise it 1s 
probable we should never have got it, but have been obliged 
to suffer thirst beside an abundant well. 

These Tartars did not seem contented, like those we 
had met with in the other parts of Mongolia; we saw they 


216 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


were very depressed at being obliged to spend their lives in 
such a barren country, where pasturage is so very scarce and 
water still rarer. They talked to us of the Mongol kingdoms 
through which we had passed, and where it was so easy, so 
agreeable indeed, to feed animals. “ Oh, how happy are the 
inhabitants of these countries! ” said they. “ How fortunate 
were we, could we spend our days amidst those rich pas- 
turages.” 

Before they returned to their dwelling, which lay be- 
hind a high mountain, these Tartars told us that we ought to 
depart next morning before day-break, for that we should 
not find any water until we came to the Hundred Wells, 
which was distant a hundred and fifty /is (fifteen leagues). 


The Hundred Wells, 


Dawn had not yet appeared when we left. The country 
was, as before, sandy, barren, and dismal. About noon we 
_ halted in order to take a little food and to make tea with the 
water we had brought with us on one of the camels. Night 
was setting in before we reached the Hundred Wells; our 
poor animals could hardly move for hunger and fatigue; yet, 
at all cost, we were obliged to reach the encampment. To re- 
main where we were would have caused infinite wretched- 
ness. At last we came to the wells, and, without troubling 
ourselves to ascertain whether or no there were a hundred of 
them, as the Tartar name of the place imported, we hastened 
to pitch our tent. 

As the night had already made considerable progress, 
we hastened to eat, with excellent appetite, the soup that 
Samdadchiemba had prepared, and then lay down upon our 
goatskins, where we enjoyed a profound sleep till day- 
break. 

On getting up next morning a glance around the en- 
campment diffused a shudder of terror through all our 


THE KING OF THE ALECHAN 217 


limbs, for we found ourselves surrounded on every side by 
deep wells. We had been, indeed, told that we should not 
find water until we reached the place called Hundred Wells, 
but we had never imagined that this denomination, Hundred 
Wells, was to be taken literally. When we had pitched our 
tent the night before, it was too dark for us to remark the 
presence of these numerous precipices, and accordingly we 
had taken no precautions. 


Encounter with the Cortége of the King of the Alechan. 


After having made our usual breakfast, we proceeded. 
Towards noon we perceived before us a great multitude is- 
suing from a narrow defile formed by two precipitous moun- 
tains. We were lost in conjecture as to what this numerous 
and imposing caravan could be. Innumerable camels, laden 
with baggage, advanced in single file, one after the other, es- 
corted on either side by a number of horsemen, who, in the 
distance, appeared to be richly attired. We slackened our 
pace, to obtain a nearer view of this caravan, which appeared 
to us a very strange affair. 

It was still a considerable distance off when four horse- 
men, who formed a sort of vanguard, galloped on towards 
us. They were all four mandarins, as we perceived from the 
blue button which surmounted their cap of ceremony. “ Sirs 
Lamas,” they said, “ peace be with you! Towards what point 
of the earth do you direct your steps? ” “ We are of the 
West, and it is to the West we are going. And you, brothers 
of Mongolia, whither do you travel in so large a troop and 
in such magnificent apparel? ” “ We are from the kingdom 
of Alechan, and our king is making.a journey to Peking to 
prostrate himself at the feet of Him who dwells above the 
sky.” After these few words the four horsemen rose some- 
what in their saddles, saluted, and then returned to their posi- 
tion at the head of the caravan. 


218 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


We had thus encountered on his way the King of Ale- 
chan, repairing to Peking with his gorgeous retinue, to be 
present at the great meeting of the tributary princes, who, 
on the first day of the first moon, are bound to offer the com- 
pliments of the new year to the Emperor. Behind the van- 
guard came a palankeen carried by two splendid mules, har- 
nessed, the one before, the other behind, to gilt shafts. The 
palankeen was square, plain, and by no means elegant; its 
roof was adorned with some silk fringe, and its four panels 
were decorated with some pictures of dragons, birds, and 
nosegays. [he Tartar monarch was sitting, not upon a seat, 
but with his legs crossed, in the oriental fashion. He seemed 
to be about fifty years old; and his full, round features gave 
to his physiognomy a remarkable air of good nature. As he 
passed us, we cried: “ King of the Alechan, peace and happi- 
ness be on your way! ” “ Men of prayer,” he answered, 
“‘ may you also be at peace,” and he accompanied these words 
with a friendly salute. An old white-bearded lama, mounted 
upon a magnificent horse, led the fore mule of the palankeen; 
he was considered the guide of the whole caravan. Generally 
the great marches of the Tartars are under the guidance of 
the most venerable of the lamas of the district; for these peo- 
ple are persuaded that they have nothing to fear on their 
way so long as they have at their head a representative of the 
divinity, or rather the divinity himself incarnate in the per- 
son of the lama. 

A great number of horsemen who surrounded, as a 
guard of honour, the royal palankeen made their horses 
curvet incessantly and dash up and down, in and out, from one 
side to the other, without ever stopping in their rapid move- 
ments. Immediately behind the carriage of the king came a 
white camel of extraordinary beauty and size; a young Tar- 
tar on foot led it by a silken string. This camel was not laden. 
From the tips of its humps, which looked like two pyramids, 


A MINISTER OF STATE 219 


floated pieces of yellow taffeta. There was no doubt that this 
magnificent animal was a present destined for the Chinese 
Emperor. The remainder of the troop consisted of numerous 
camels carrying the baggage, the boxes, tents, pots, the thou- 
sand and one utensils that are always wanted in a country 
where no tavern is to be found. 


Encampment and Conversation with a Minister of State. 


The caravan had passed on a long time when, meeting 
with a well, we resolved to pitch our tent beside it. While we 
were making our tea, three Tartars, one decorated with the 
red, the others with the blue button, alighted at the entrance 
of our dwelling. They asked for news of the caravan of the 
King of the Alechan. We answered that we had met it a long 
time since, that it must already be at a considerable distance, 
and that it would doubtless arrive before night at the en- 
campment of the Hundred Wells. “ As it is so,” they said, 
“we would rather remain here than arrive by night at the 
Hundred Wells, at the risk of falling into some hole. To- 
morrow by starting a little before day we shall reach the 
caravan.” 

No sooner said than done: the Tartars forthwith un- 
saddled their horses, sent them off to seek their fortune in 
the desert, and without ceremony took their seat beside our 
fire. They were all Taitsi of the kingdom of the Alechan. 
One of these, he who wore the cap with the red button, was 
the king’s minister; they all three belonged to the great cara- 
van, but the day before, having started to visit a friend, a 
prince of the Ortous, they had been left behind by the main 
body. 

The minister of the King of Alechan had an open, frank 
character and a very acute understanding; he combined Mon- 
gol good nature with vivacious and elegant manners, which 
he had no doubt acquired in his frequent visits to Peking. 


220 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


He asked many questions about the country which the Tar- 
tars call the Western Heaven, and informed us that every 
three years a great number of our countrymen, from the dif- 
ferent western kingdoms, rendered their homage to the Em- 
peror at Peking. 

It is needless to observe that, for the most part, the Tar- 
tars do not carry very far their geographical studies. The 
West means with them simply Thibet and some adjacent 
countries which they hear mentioned by the lamas who have 
made the pilgrimage to Lhasa. They firmly believe that be- 
yond Thibet there is nothing; there, say they, is the end of 
the world; beyond, there is merely a shoreless ocean. 


Tributes Paid the Emperor of China. 


When we had satisfied all the inquiries of the red but- 
ton, we addressed some to him about the country of the 
Alechan and the journey to Peking. “‘ Every third year all 
the sovereigns of the world,” said he, “‘ repair to Peking, for 
the feast of the new year. Princes who live near are bound 
to go thither every year; those who live at the extremities of 
the earth go every second or third year, according to the dis- 
tance they have to travel.” “ What is your purpose in going 
every year to Peking? ” “‘ We ourselves go as the retinue 
of our king; the king alone enjoys the happiness of prostrat- 
ing himself in the presence of the Old Buddha (the Em- 
peror) 2 

One of the banners of the Tchakar is especially charged 
with sending to Peking every year an immense provision of 
pheasants’ eggs. We asked the minister of the King of the 
Alechan whether these pheasants’ eggs were of a peculiar 
flavour that they were so highly appreciated by the court. 
“‘’They are not destined to be eaten,” the answered; “ the 
Old Buddha uses them for another purpose.” “ As they are 
not eaten, what are they used for? ” The Tartar seemed em- 
barrassed, and blushed somewhat as he replied that these 


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ON DP ee Pry ot ee eS ee a ee, Ue ee a ee 


THE COUNTRY OF THE ALECHAN 221 


eggs were used to make a sort of varnish, which the women 
of the imperial harem used for the purpose of smoothing 


GRAND CEREMONY AT THE ANCESTRAL TEMPLE. 


their hair, and which communicates to it, they say, a peculiar 
lustre and brilliancy. 


Desolation of the Country of the Alechan. 


The visit of the three mandarins of the Alechan was not 
only pleasant on account of the narrative they gave us of the 
relations of the Tartar kings with the Emperor, but it was of 
essential utility to us. When they understood that we were 
directing our steps towards the West, they asked us whether 
we intended passing through the district of the Alechan. On 
our answering in the affirmative, they dissuaded us from 
the project; they told us that our animals would perish there, 
for not a single pasturage was to be met with. We already 
knew that the Alechan is a tract still more barren than the 
Ortous. It consists, in fact, of chains of lofty mountains of 


222 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


sand, where you may travel sometimes for whole days to- 
gether without seeing a single blade of vegetation. Some 
narrow valleys, here and there, alone offer to the flocks a few 
thorny and wretched plants. On this account the Alechan is 
very thinly inhabited, even in comparison with the other 
parts of Mongolia. 

The mandarins told us that this year the drought which 
had been general throughout Tartary had rendered the dis- 
trict of the Alechan almost uninhabitable. They assured us 
that at least one third of the flocks had perished of hunger 
and thirst and that the remainder were in a wretched state. 
For their journey to Peking they had, they said, chosen the 
best they could find in the country; and we might have ob- 
served that the animals of the caravan were very different 
indeed from those we had seen in Tchakar. The drought, the 
want of water and pastures, the destruction of the flocks — 
all this had given birth to an utter state of misery, whence, 
again, numerous bands of robbers who were ravaging the 
country and robbing travellers. They assured us that being so 
few in number, it would not be wise for us to enter upon the 
Alechan mountains, particularly in the absence of the princi- 
pal authorities. 

On receiving this information we resolved not to re- 
trace our steps, for we were too far advanced, but to diverge 
a little from our. route. The night was far advanced ere we 
thought of taking rest; we had scarcely slept a few minutes, 


in fact, when the day broke. The Tartars saddled their steeds — 


and, after having wished us peace and happiness, dashed off 
at full gallop, to overtake the great caravan which preceded 
them. 


Decision to Traverse the Kan-Sou. Samdadchiemba is Homesick, 


As for us, before setting out we unrolled the map of 
the Chinese Empire and sought upon it to what point we 


DECISION TO TRAVERSE THE KAN-SOU 223 


ought to direct our steps so as to avoid the wretched district 
of the Alechan, without, however, deviating too much from 
our route. After looking at the map we saw no other way 
than to recross the Yellow River, to pass the Great Wall of 
China, and to travel across the Chinese province of Kan-Sou, 
until we arrived among the Tartars of the Koukou-Noor. 
Formerly this determination would have made us tremble. 
Accustomed as we had been to live privately in our Chinese 
Christendom, it would have seemed to us impossible to enter 
the Chinese Empire alone, and without the care of a catechist. 
At that time it would have seemed to us clear as the day that 
our strangulation and the persecution of all the Chinese mis- 
sions would have been the certain result of our rash under- 
taking. Such would have been our fears formerly, but the 
time of our fear was gone. Indurated by our two months’ 
journey, we had come to the persuasion that we might travel 
in China with as much safety as in Tartary. The stay that we 
had already made in several large commercial towns, com- 
pelled as we had been to manage our own affairs, had ren- 
dered the Chinese manners and customs more familiar to us. 
The language presented to us no difficulties; besides being 
able to speak the Tartar idiom, we were familiar with the 
colloquial phrases of the Chinese, a very difficult attainment 
to those who reside in the missions, because the Christians 
there seek to flatter them by employing, in the presence of 
the missionaries, only the short vocabulary of words that 
they have studied in books. Besides these purely moral and 
intellectual advantages, our long journey had been useful in 
a physical point of view; the rain, the wind, and the sun, 
which had during two months raged against our European 
tint, had in the end embrowned and tanned it so that we 
looked quite like wild men of the wood in this respect. The 
fear of being recognized by the Chinese now no longer trou- 


bled us. 


224 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


We told Samdadchiemba that we should cease, in a few 
days, to travel in the Land of Grass and that we should con- 
tinue our route through the Chinese Empire. “ Travel among 
the Chinese! ” said the Dchiahour; “very well. There are 
good inns there. They boil good tea there. When it rains, you 
can go under shelter. During the night you are not disturbed 
by the blowing of the north wind. But in China there are ten 
thousand roads; which shall we take? Do we know which is 
the best? ? We made him look at the map, pointing out all 
the places which we should have to pass before we reached 
Koukou-Noor. We even reduced, for his edification, into és 
all the distances from one town to the other. Samdadchiemba 
looked at our small geographical chart with perfect enthusi- 
asm. ‘‘ Oh,” said he, “ how sincerely I regret that I did not 
study while I was in the lamasery! If I had listened to my 
master, if I had paid more attention, I might perhaps now 
understand the description of the world that is here drawn 
on this piece of paper. With this, one can go everywhere 
without asking the way. Is it not so? ” “f Yes, everywhere,” 
answered we; “even to your own family.” “ How is that? 
Is my country also written down here? ” and as he spoke, he 
bent over the chart, so as entirely to cover it with his huge 
frame. “ Stand aside and we will show you your country. 
Look; do you see this little space beside that green line? 
That is the country of the Dchiahours, which the Chinese 
call the Three Valleys (San-Tchouen). Your village must 
be here; we shall pass not more than two days’ journey from | 
your house.” “ Is it possible? ” cried he, striking his fore- 
head; “shall we pass two days’ journey from my house? 
Do you say so? How can that be? Not more than two days’ 
journey? In that case, when we are near it, I will ask my 
spiritual fathers’ permission to go and see once more my 
country.” “ What can you have to do now in the Three Val- 
leys? ” “TI will go and see what is doing there. It is eighteen 


A WILD BEAST | 225 


years since my departure from my house. I will go and see 
if my old mother is still there; and if she is alive, I will make 
her enter into the Holy Church. As for my two brothers, who 
knows whether they will have enough sense not to believe 
any longer in the transmigrations of Buddha. Ah, yes,” 
added he after a short pause, “ I will make a little tea, and 
we will talk this matter over again.” 

Samdadchiemba was no longer with us; his thoughts 
had flown to his native land. We were obliged to remind him 
of his real position. “ Samdadchiemba, you need not make 
any tea; and just now, instead of talking, we must fold up 
our tent, load the camels, and proceed on our way. Look; the 
sun is already high in the heavens; if we do not get on, we 
shall never reach the Three Valleys.” “ True,” cried he; and, 
springing up, he set himself busily about making preparations 
for our departure. On resuming our route we abandoned the 
direction towards the west, which we had strictly followed 
during our journey, and diverged a little to the south. 


Trepidation Caused by a Wild Beast. 


We had scarcely, however, stretched ourselves on the 
turf when an extraordinary and altogether unexpected noise 
threw us into a state of stupor. It was a long, lugubrious, deep 
cry that seemed approaching our tent. We had heard the howl 
of wolves, the roar of tigers and of bears; but these in no 
way resembled the sound which now affrighted our ears. It 
was something like the bellowing of a bull, but crossed with 
tones so strange and unintelligible that we were utterly panic- 
stricken. And we were all the more surprised and confounded 
because everybody had assured us that there were no wild 
beasts of any kind in the whole Ortous country. 

The cries once more approaching, we piled up some 
brushwood at a few paces from the tent and made a bonfire. 
The light, instead of deterring the unknown monster, seemed 


226 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


rather to attract it; and before long, by the flame of the 
brushwood, we could distinguish the outline of what ap- 
peared to be a great quadruped, of reddish hue, the aspect of 
which, however, as near as we could judge, was by no means 
so ferocious as its voice. We ventured to advance towards it, 
but as we advanced, it retreated. Samdadchiemba, whose eyes 
were very sharp and accustomed to the desert, assured us 
that the creature was either a dog ora stray calf. 

Our animals were, at the very least, as absorbed with the 
subject as ourselves. The horse and the mule pointed their 
ears and dug up the earth with their hoofs, while the camels, 
with outstretched necks and glaring eyes, did not for an in- 
stant remove their gaze from the spot whence these wild cries 
issued. 


The Caravan Acquires a Lame Dog, then Abandons It. Farewell to Tartary. 


In order to ascertain precisely with what creature we had 
to do, we diluted a handful of meal in a wooden dish, and, 
placing this at the entrance of the tent, withdrew inside. Soon 
we saw the animal slowly advance, then stop, then advance 
again. At last it came to the dish and with the most remark- 
able rapidity lapped up the supper we had prepared for it. 
We now saw that it was a dog of immense size. After having 
thoroughly licked and polished the empty dish it lay down 
without ceremony at the entrance of the tent, and we forth- 
with followed its example, glad to have found a protector 
in the apprehended foe. 

Next morning, upon awaking, we were able to examine 
at leisure the dog which, after having so alarmed us, had so 
unreservedly attached itself to us. Its colour was red, its size 
immense; its excessive meagreness showed that it had been 
wandering about homeless for some time past. A dislocated 
leg, which it dragged along the ground, communicated to it 


A LAME DOG | 227 


a sort of swinging motion, which added to its formidable 
effect. But it was especially alarming when it sent forth its 
loud, fierce voice. Whenever we heard it, we instinctively 
looked at the animal whence it proceeded to see whether it 
really belonged to the canine race. 

We resumed our route, and the new Arsalan accom- 
panied us, its general position being a few paces in advance 
of the caravan, as though to show us the way, with which it 
appeared to be tolerably familiar. 

After two days’ journey we reached the foot of a chain 
of mountains, the summits of which were lost in the clouds. 
We set about ascending them, however, courageously, for 
we hoped that beyond them we should find the Yellow River. 
That day’s journey was very painful, especially to the cam- 
els, for every step was upon sharp, rugged rock, and their 
feet, accordingly, were very speedily bleeding. We ourselves, 
however, were too absorbed with the strange, fantastic aspect 
of the mountains we were traversing to think of the toil 
they occasioned us. 

In the hollows and chasms of the precipices formed by 
these lofty mountains you see nothing but great heaps of 
mica and laminated stones, broken, bruised, and in some cases 
absolutely pulverized. This wreck of slate and schist must 
have been brought into these abysses by some deluge, for it in 
no way belongs to the mountains themselves, which are of 
granite. As you approach the summits, the mountains assume 
forms more and more fantastic. You see great heaps of rock 
piled one upon the other, and apparently cemented together. 
These rocks are almost entirely encrusted with shells and 
the remains of a plant resembling seaweed; but that which 
is most remarkable is that these granitic masses are cut and 
torn and worn in every direction, presenting a ramification 
of holes and cavities, meandering in a thousand complicated 


228 TRAVELS IN TARTARY 


turns and twists, so that you might imagine all the upper por- 
tion of each mountain to have been subjected to the slow and 
_ destructive action of immense worms. Sometimes in the gran- 
ite you find deep impressions that seem the moulds of 
monsters, whose forms they still closely retain. 

As we gazed upon all these phenomena, it seemed to us 
that we were travelling in the bed of some exhausted ocean. 
Everything tended to the belief that these mountains had 
undergone the gradual action of the sea. It is impossible to 
attribute all you see there to the influence of mere rain, or still 
less to the inundations of the Yellow River, which, however 
prodigious they may be, can never have attained so great an 
elevation. The geologists who affirm that the deluge took 
place by sinking, and not by a depolarization of the earth, 
might probably find in these mountains ‘good arguments in 
favour of their system. 

On reaching the crest of these mountains we saw beneath 
us the Yellow River, rolling its waves majestically from 
south to north. It was now near noon, and we hoped that 
same evening to pass the river and sleep in one of the inns of 
the little town of Ché-Tsui-Dzé, which we perceived on the 
slope of a hill beyond the river, 

We occupied the whole afternoon in descending the 
rugged mountain, selecting as we went the places right and 
left that seemed more practicable than the rest. At length - 
we arrived, and before nightfall, on the banks of the Yellow 
River, our passage across which was most successfully ef- 
fected. In the first place, the Mongol Tartars who rented 
the ferry oppressed our purse less direfully than the Chinese 
ferrymen had done. Next, the animals got into the boat 
without any difficulty. The only grievance was that we had 
to leave our lame dog on the bank, for the Mongols would 
not admit it on any terms, insisting upon the rule that all 
dogs must swim across the river, the boat being destined solely 


‘FAREWELL TO TARTARY 2.29 


for men or for animals that cannot swim. We were fain to 


submit to the prejudice. 
On the other side of the Yellow River we found our- 


selves in China, and bade adieu for a while to Tartary, to the 
desert, and to the nomadic life. 


A NOTE ON THE TYPE IN 
WHICH THIS BOOK IS SET 


The type in which this book has been set (on the Lino- 
type) 1s Caslon Old Face, a faithful and authentic re- 
production from the original patterns of William 
Caslon 1. Historically considered, Caslon’s old face 
types are the most important contribution the English 
speaking world has ever made to the art of typography. 
No other face has ever attained to so lasting and 
general a popularity. Caslon’s types were made to 
read. Even their apparent imperfections contribute to 
this effect being, in fact, the result of a deliberate 
artistry which sought above all else for legibility in the 
printed page. 


SET UP, ELECTROTYPED, PRINTED 
AND BOUND BY THE PLIMPTON 
PRESS, NORWOOD, MASS. > 
PAPER MANUFACTURED BY 
S.D. WARREN CO., BOSTON, 
AND FURNISHED BY H. 
LINDENMEYR & SONS, 

NEW YORK 


THE 
BLUE JADE LIBRARY 


feriepieo EK JADE LIBRARY 


“is designed to cover ‘the field of semi-classic, semi-curious books 
— books which for one reason or another have enjoyed great celebrity 
but little actual distribution.’ The plan is an excellent one and the 
selection made so far has been equally excellent: and it is to be hoped 
that both the celebrity and the distribution of these classic and curious 
books is being greatly widened. Their format is delightful, their 
price moderate, and their appeal is to the intelligent.” — From a 


review of The Twilight of the Gods in the New York Sun. 


In format, printing and binding, every 
Blue Jade Library book lives up to the enduring 
delight of its contents. In addition to Sardonic Tales 
the books listed on the following pages 
have been published. 


f 


tae 


‘ 
aS 
© 
D 
‘ 
td 


CF 


Pie i bE OF HENRI BRULARD 


by STENDHAL 


Translated from the French by Catherine Alison Phillips 
Introduction by Harry C. Block 


Stendhal’s autobiography, The Life of Henri Brulard, was written 

for his own amusement, in order, as he said, to determine what sort 

of a man he had been in fifty years of intense living. His sensitive 

understanding and precise psychological analysis are here turned 

inward on himself in a style more personal and more passionate than 
was his usual custom. 


THE DIABOLIQUES 


by BarBey D’AuREVILLY 


Translated from the French, with an Introduction, 
by Ernest Boyd 


D’Aurevilly’s style has been described by one of his contemporaries 
as a mixture of “tiger’s blood and honey,” and Edmund Gosse 
speaks of “‘ his strange intensity,” his “‘ sensual and fantastic force.” 
This famous volume is regarded as his masterpiece and contains the 
celebrated stories, The Crimson Curtain, At a Dinner of Atheists, 
The Greatest Love of Don Juan, Happiness in Crime, Beneath the 
Cards of a Game of Whist, and A Woman's Revenge. 


PartAIN COOK’S VOYAGES 


by ANDREW KiIppPis 


Inspired by Captain Cook’s achievements and thrilled by his unusual 
adventures, Andrew Kippis, a contemporary and a fellow member 
of the Royal Society, wrote a story of this hero’s life and voyages. 
Dr. Kippis drew his information of Dr. James Cook’s famous trips 
around the world from first-hand sources. In a tale of strange 
adventures the narrator has given us an historical document of ex- 
ploration and of the manners and customs of the eighteenth century. 
Illustrated from old prints. 


HADRIAN THE SEVENTH 


by FREDERICK, Baron Corvo 


Hadrian the Seventh is the masterpiece of that singular genius, 

Frederick Rolfe, self-styled “ Baron Corvo.” It is the story of 

Hadrian’s year in the Vatican, from the amazing chance of his 

election from the obscurity of minor priesthood to his death at the 

hand of a blackmailing assassin when at the very summit of his 
achievements. 


THE WOOINGS OF JEZEBEU PET ie. 


by HatpanE MacFatu 


“The Wooings of Jezebel Pettyfer is probably the best novel yet 
written about the Negro. . . . The voodoo chapters are inimitable; 
the characters, Jehu Sennacherib Dyle and his companion, Boaz 
Bryan, Aunt Judy, and especially the incredibly vivid Jezebel her- 
self, are keenly observed. . . . Copies of the first edition (1897) 
recently have brought as much as $25.00.” — Carl Van Vechten. 


SAID THE FISHERMAN 


by MarMADUKE PICKTHALL 


**’The story of Said is of a piece with the Burton translation of the 

Arabian Nights. It has that great repository’s glamour, humor, comic 

zest,” wrote Laurence Stallings. “A long, swift novel, it incor- 
porates dozens of stories, vignettes, sketches, anecdotes.” 


THE LETTERS OF ABEUAR DG 
HELOISE 


Translated from the Latin by C. K. Scott-Moncrief 


This is the first complete translation of these famous letters to be 

made into English from the original. There have been selections, 

paraphrases, versifications — but there is no integral version save the 
present one by Mr. C. K. Scott-Moncrieff. 


RACHEL MARR 


by Morey RoBErRtTs 


Rachel Marr was first published about twenty years ago. Long out 

of print, it has been known and admired by the discerning few — 

among them W. H. Hudson and George Gissing. It is a very vivid 

and very modern unveiling of a great and tragic love story, painted 

not in the grey tints which readers of today so seldom find to their 

taste, but in the bright colors of the artist who is not afraid of his 
own powers. 


Piet VWILIGHT OF THE GODS 


by RicHarp GARNETT 


Richard Garnett was one of the most illustrious bookmen of the 

nineteenth century. He was the father of the critic Edward Garnett 

and the grandfather of David Garnett, author of Lady Into Fox, 

and Go She Must. The Twilight of the Gods is a collection of semi- 

mythological tales, all of them reflecting a delicious combination of 
wit and erudition. 


Tue Apventures Or Hayyi Baza Or Ispanan 
by James Morter 


With an Introduction by E. G. Browne 
Hajji Baba was originally published in 1824. “It met,” wrote Sir 
Walter Scott, “with an universal good reception. The novelty of 
the style, which was at once perceived to be genuinely Oriental by 
such internal evidence as establishes the value of real old china, se- 
cured a merited welcome for the Persian picaroon.” — 


39 


SIR WALTER RALEGH 
by Martin A. 8. HuME 


First published in 1897 and long out of print, this biography is the 

most complete and fascinating account of a singularly picturesque 

character. It includes much new material such as the letters of 

the Spanish ambassador, which reveal the true cause of Ralegh’s 
execution. 


PABLO DE SEGOVIA 
by Francisco DE QuUEVEDO-VILLEGAS 
With an Introduction by Henry Edward Watts 
Don Pablo is the perfect type of adventurer of the picaresque school, 
and the characters of the story are all such as were the common 
property of the comic writers of the seventeenth century. Scarcely 
anywhere else are they invested with so muth of the breath of life. 


THE MEMOIRS OF CARLO GOLDONI 
Translated from the Italian by John Black, with an Introduction | 
by William A. Drake 
Goldoni, who lived from 1700 to 1793, occupied in Italy a position 
analogous to that of Moliére in France. ‘The picture of eighteenth 
century Italy and the eventful life of Goldoni place his memoirs, 
with Benvenuto Cellini’s, among the most engrossing of Italian 
autobiographies. 


A ROMANTIC IN SPAIN 
by THEOPHILE GAUTIER 
Translated from the French, with an Introduction, by 
Catherine Alison Phillips 

In 1840 Gautier spent in Spain the six months which he records here. 
He reports gaily and acutely, its landscapes, people and costumes, 
art galleries and atmosphere. Things change slowly in Spain and 
Gautier’s book is still invaluable to those who may visit or study that 

most curious of European countries. J/lustrated. 


MAX HAVELAAR: Or, The Coffee Sales Of The 
Netherlands Trading Company 


Translated from the Dutch of “Multatuli” by W. Siebenhaar 

with an Introduction by D. H. Lawrence 
Max Havelaar was first published in Holland in 1860. In spite of 
the Dutch government’s attempt to ignore this book — a mordant 
satire on the Dutch bourgeois and a polemical picture of Java under 
Dutch rule— Max Havelaar was read all over Europe and its 
author, Edward Douwes Dekker, was widely imitated. 

At all bookshops $3.00 


ALFRED A. KNOPF - Pusutsuer - NEW YORK 


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